The Vanishing Cabinet Of Time
by Vance McGill
Summary: After Ron betrays them, Harry and Hermione find themselves in the Room of Requirement during the Battle of Hogwarts. In danger, Harry and Hermione hide in the Vanishing Cabinet – which abruptly throws them back in time to the end of their third year at Hogwarts, in their younger bodies.
1. Two Trips Through Time

**Title: The Vanishing Cabinet Of Time**

**Summary: After Ron betrays them, Harry and Hermione find themselves in the Room of Requirement during the Battle of Hogwarts. Whilst searching for the Diadem Horcrux, Death Eaters enter the Room. Harry and Hermione hide in the Vanishing Cabinet – which abruptly throws them back in time to the end of their third year at Hogwarts, in their younger bodies. Armed with knowledge of the future, they seek to change the future for the better.**

**Rating**: **M  
Warnings: Do-Overs, Harem, Betrothals, Manipulative!GreaterGood!Dumbledore, Smart!Powerful-But-Not-Godlike!Harry-And-Hermione, Ancient**** and Noble Houses, Lords and Ladies, Severe Character Bashing – Dumbledore, some Weasleys and others; other warnings labeled individually in chapters.**  
**  
Ships: Harry/Multi (Hermione, Daphne, Susan, Luna – maybe Gabrielle and Tonks), Sirius/Amelia  
****  
****Disclaimer: **J.K Rowling owns the characters and the world of Harry Potter. I do not. I just like to play in her sandbox. No copyright infringement intended. Recognizable sections of this chapter come directly from Chapter 21 of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling. I do not take claim for these, only my own additions.

* * *

**Chapter 1  
Two Trips Through Time**

As the sounds of battle erupted through Hogwarts castle, Hermione Granger followed Ron Weasley toward the girl's bathroom on the second floor. Their plan seemed simple enough. They would make their way down to the Chamber of Secrets, retrieve a few venom-filled fangs from the Basilisk and destroy the Horcrux residing inside Helga Hufflepuff's goblet.

However, as soon as they entered the bathroom, Hermione realized they had already encountered a huge problem.

"Ron?" she asked, "Exactly how are we going to get into the Chamber? The entrance can only be opened by a Parselmouth."

A smirk crossed Ron's lips and he walked forward toward the sinks. Hermione's eyes widened as she heard a hissing sound coming from Ron's lips. Immediately the sinks began to slid inward, creating a entrance in the floor.

"Exactly how did you do that?" Hermione asked.

"Does it matter?" Ron asked, "Come on! We're wasting time."

Hermione shook her head and stared at Ron. "This doesn't make sense at all. Parselmouth abilities cannot be recreated through mimicry. You're a Parselmouth!"

"And you are too smart for your own good," Ron said.

"Wh-what?" Hermione asked.

Ron turned and pointed his wand at her. "I can't have you blabbing something like that to Harry, now can I? Obliviate!"

Hermione knew she couldn't get a Shield up in time, so she ducked to the floor. Expecting another curse, she then threw up a shield just as Ron yelled out "Imperio!" Hermione's shield blocked it – which either meant he didn't exactly mean to do it, or he didn't put enough power into it.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Hermione growled.

The spell hit Ron, and his arms snapped to his sides, and his legs snapped together. He fell to the floor. Hermione stood and hurried over to him, then kicked the wand away from him.

"Stupid Mudblood Bitch!" Ron growled.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Ron?" Hermione asked, as she felt tears pool in her eyes. "Trying to take away my memories, and then you try to control me?"

"I don't have to tell you anything," Ron said.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "There is something you seemed to have forgotten about the Unforgivable Curses, Ron. You have to mean them. I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and say that you didn't mean to curse me. I'm also going to teach you how to really cast an Unforgivable Curse. _Imperio!"_

She smiled smugly as Ron's eyes glazed over.

"Now," Hermione said, "You're going to tell me everything, and it will be the truth. You would never call me a Mudblood, nor a bitch. What is wrong with you? You're supposed to be my friend."

"Your friend?" Ron asked, "I've never been your _friend. _I wouldn't give one shit about you if you hadn't stuck your nose into my business with Harry."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, "What business?"

"Before first year began," Ron said, "Professor Dumbledore met me at my house. He asked me to befriend Harry Potter on the Hogwarts Express. If I befriended Harry, then he would tell me anything. That is exactly what Dumbledore wanted."

Hermione's sharp mind put two and two together. "Are you saying Dumbledore wanted you to _spy _on Harry?"

"Yeah," Ron said, "In return he would give me money and candy and make sure my grades were passable. I don't like to do homework or read textbooks or anything like that, and Dumbledore knew that. I accepted the task. And then you had to stick your nose where it didn't belong. Those first few weeks of our first year, you kept coming around and trying to be Harry's friend. You never got my hint to stay away. Dumbledore began to realize that you wanted to be Harry's friend. Dumbledore knew about Quirrel's troll. Dumbledore was a highly skilled Legilimens, of course he knew."

"He knew that Quirrel had Voldemort on the back of his head?" Hermione asked.

"Did you just hear what I said?" Ron asked, "Yes, of course he knew. He also told me to upset you and make you run off. Did you know you were originally going to spend Halloween night in the safety of your dorm-room. That was before Dumbledore placed you under an Imperius Curse and made you go into the bathroom. He placed troll lure in that same bathroom."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"He wanted you dead," Ron said, in a 'isn't it obvious' tone, "You were meddling in his affairs with Harry. But Harry had to come along and save the day."

Hermione blinked back tears. She could not believe what she was hearing. Dumbledore wanted her dead?

"So why didn't he do away with me after I became Harry's friend?" she asked.

"Dumbledore realized that with your help," Ron said, "Harry would uncover the mystery about the Philosopher's Stone. And he was right."

"He wanted Harry to save the Stone," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Ron said, "It was Harry's first test. He was making sure that Harry had what it took to defeat Voldemort. Then there was our second year. Now, I'm not going to say that Dumbledore was behind your Petrifaction. But he certainly seemed more cheerful when you were Petrified. Might have even heard him say that it was a pity you had a mirror with you. I visited you in the Hospital Wing while you were Petrified. Even in that state you had a nice set of tits. I could reach my hand up under your shirt and..."

"Bastard!" Hermione growled; she wanted to kick him the bollocks, but she needed to know more. "What else? What else were you and Dumbledore responsible for – when it came to me?"

"I knew about your time-turner antics in third year," Ron said, "Dumbledore told me. Why do you think he let a young third year use a time turner? He hoped you would go mental from the pressure. And then, when he suggested you and Harry go back in time to save Sirius? It was only to give you another shot at getting bit by Remus in his werewolf form. If you were bit and turned into a werewolf, Dumbledore would kick you out of Hogwarts, and we'd be done with you. Fourth year... second task of the Tournament. Do you really think Viktor Krum missed you the most? He had a family. No... Dumbledore, as a judge, put you on the bottom of the lake, in the hopes that you would drown. Dumbledore gave up after that... well, at least when it came to trying to kill you. He was busy with other things. He just told me to eavesdrop on you and Harry."

"And what about you?" Hermione asked.

"When I realized you weren't going anywhere," Ron said, "I changed my tactics. If I can't get rid of you, then you were going to be stuck with me. In the Department of Mysteries, when you got hurt by that Curse, and nearly died... after that, in the Hospital Wing, I could see Harry beginning to fall in love with you."

Hermione blinked. "Harry...? But he loves Ginny."

Ron grinned. "Yes, what a brilliant plan that turned out to be. Dumbledore realized that Harry was beginning to fall for you, so he talked to my mother. She's great at cooking up Love Potions. She began dosing Harry – first with some minor Love Potions, then the more serious ones. Harry slowly and slowly began to feel something for Ginny."

"His love for her is... fake," Hermione said.

"Sure," Ron said, "But Mum agreed to do it. If Harry knocked Ginny up, and Harry died, then his fortune would go to my family. Harry doesn't even know he has a fortune, did you know? He just thinks his only Vault is his Trust Vault. He's too stupid to realize the Vault never seems to run low on money. It always fills up."

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked.

"Mum," Ron said, "Dumbledore gave her the key to the Potter Vault, so she could take some funds for it. Harry won't need it, he's going to die today."

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked.

"Oops, I forgot to tell you, didn't I?" Ron asked, "Dumbledore told me that Harry has a Horcrux in his scar."

Hermione's eyes widened and began to fill with tears. "No..."

"Did you know that the Goblins could have removed the Horcrux from Harry's scar?" Ron asked. "Griphook knew. In fact, he wanted to tell Harry whilst at Shell Cottage, but I Obliviated the bastard. I also made him betray Harry at Gringotts."

"Bastard," Hermione said.

"I should have never left you and Harry in the tent," Ron said, "That was my biggest mistake. I was honest about that right from the start. Whilst I was gone, I couldn't feed you Love Potions anymore."

"You dosed me?!" Hermione asked.

"Course," Ron said, grinning, "How else was I supposed to have you? I knew you fancied Harry. But with the Love Potion, little by little you forgot about that. Little by little you realized you were in love with me."

Hermione had enough. She ran over to him and kicked him in the groin. Ron groaned and cried out in pain, but couldn't move at all thanks to the Body Bind.

"You traitorous bastard," Hermione growled, "I really thought I felt something for you. I'm sure those feelings I felt whilst you were snogging Lavender was because you were dosing me. What? Did you want some on the side before you got me? But you dosed me so I wouldn't choose anyone else? Like Harry? I do love him, Ron."

"Bitch," Ron muttered.

"I should kill you right here and now," Hermione said, "But I'm going to leave you here. Maybe you'll be lucky and someone will come along and find you. Better hope it isn't a Death Eater."

For good measure, Hermione kicked him in the groin again. Then she turned and left the bathroom and hurried out toward the Grand Staircase. She was nearing the staircase when she realized she still had the Cup Horcrux with her and no means to destroy it. She decided she needed to find Harry and they could figure out another way. Hermione took the Marauder's Map from her pocket, said the key phrase and searched through it. Harry was heading toward the seventh floor, and there was nobody in his path.

Hermione hurried toward the Staircase and made her way to the seventh floor. When she arrived she checked the map again. Harry was now near the Room of Requirement. And two men Hermione knew were Death Eaters were coming from the other direction. Hermione hurried toward the Room of Requirement, and when she arrived she found Harry dueling against two Death Eaters. She hit one with a Disarming Spell, just as Harry Stunned the other one.

"Potter's here!" the Death Eater screamed, "Potter's on the seventh floor! He –!"

Hermione Stunned the Death Eater before he could get out another word. Heaving and panting, Harry turned to Hermione.

"Where's Ron?" he asked, "Did you destroy the Cup?"

Hermione broke down into tears that had threatened to come since her encounter with Ron.

"He's not – tell me he's not dead," Harry said.

"No, its worse," Hermione said, "I think – Ron, he betrayed us."

"_What?_" Harry asked.

"He spoke Parseltongue," Hermione said, "And when I asked how he had done it, he turned his wand on me and tried to Obliviate me then tried to curse me with an Imperius. I hit him with a Petrificus Totalus. And then -"

"Then what, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I placed an Imperius Curse on him," Hermione said, "And told him to tell me everything, and to be honest. He – I don't think he's ever been our friend, Harry."

Harry frowned and stared at Hermione. "Look, Hermione. We don't have time. The Diadem is in the Room of Requirement. We need to destroy it and end this war. Afterward... we can discuss what you found out. Did you at least destroy the cup?"

Hermione shook her head. "I wouldn't be able to get into the Chamber without a – a Parselmouth and I didn't trust Ron. I just wanted to get back to you."

Harry sighed. "Alright. We'll find a way to destroy it. Make sure there aren't any Death Eaters coming. I need to open the room."

Hermione kept an eye on the map as Harry paced back and forth. When the door appeared, Hermione ran over to him. She didn't know what made her do it, but she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissed him square on the mouth. Harry froze for a mere second before he returned the kiss briefly.

"There's something else I need to tell you," Hermione said, when she backed away.

"I think I know what you're going to tell me," Harry said, "Save it for after the battle. We'll have the rest of our lives to tell each other."

Hermione narrowed her eyes in confusion, and before she could think what he meant, he dragged her into the Room. She had wanted to tell him what Ron told her – about Harry apparently having a Horcrux in his scar. But his reply didn't make any sense...

Harry dragged Hermione through the room until they reached their destination. It was then that Hermione saw the Diadem sitting on top of a bust, which was situated near a cabinet.

"It is funny, you know," Harry said, "I hid the Prince's book somewhere near here. I even saw this Diadem when I did. Ironic that it is a Horcrux. Do you think it is safe to hold?"

Hermione was about to answer when she heard voices in the distance. She and Harry shared looks of horror.

"We can't let them find us," Hermione said, "If they find out what we're doing..."

"We need to hide until they leave," Harry said.

"But where?" Hermione asked.

Harry grabbed the diadem from the bust, then looked at the cabinet. He opened it up, and dragged Hermione with him inside the cabinet. Hermione remained at the back of the cabinet, whilst Harry peered out through a narrow slit in the door.

It was then that Hermione realized exactly what Harry meant after their kiss.

"I love you, Harry," she said.

"Hey," Harry said, "We'll have enough time for that later."

"I-I – Harry, there's something else you need to know," Hermione said, "Ron – he told me that Dumbledore thinks your scar is a Horcrux."

"What?" Harry asked.

"It is what he said," Hermione said.

"You had him in a Body-Bind," Harry said, "He could have spout of any lies."

"Not when I had him under an Imperius, telling him to tell the truth," Hermione said, "He said that the Goblins could remove the Horcrux, and that Griphook was going to offer to help."

"Why didn't he then?" Harry asked.

"Ron said he Obliviated Griphook," Hermione said.

"So Ron betrayed us?" Harry asked. "Our best mate –?"

"I don't think he's ever been our mate," Hermione said, "He's used you – us – right from the start. He – he told me that Dumbledore -"

Before she could continue, she heard voices nearby, outside the cabinet.

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry whispered.

"Don't say that if you're just doing it because you think we're going to die," Hermione whispered.

"I'm not," Harry said; he turned around and looked at her, "I love you, Hermione Granger."

Before Hermione could respond, she heard a voice right outside the cabinet.

"Oi!" Draco Malfoy's drawling voice growled, "I think someone is in that cabinet!"

"Blast it!" Vincent Crabbe said.

Harry clutched Hermione protectively, just as a spell hit the outside of the cabinet. She shrieked as the cabinet grew darker. Then a sudden bright white light blinded Hermione and the next thing she saw was darkness.

* * *

When she came to, she found that she was staring at the ceiling of what appeared to the Hospital Wing. She raised her eyebrows in confusion. Why was she in the Hospital Wing? The Great Hall was the makeshift Hospital Wing. Was the battle over? Had she and Harry somehow survived the onslaught from Draco and his cronies on their attack on the cabinet? How many hours had passed since that moment?

She groaned as she sat up on her hospital bed. Her muscles ached and she felt very odd. She looked around and her eyes widened when she saw Harry asleep on the bed next to her. Only he looked different.

Younger. He appeared to be thirteen years old.

Hermione gasped as an impossible thought came to her mind and she held a hand to her neck. She felt a chain and which she gripped in her hand. Her eyes widened when she saw the Time-Turner.

"What the bloody hell?" Hermione asked.

"Language, Miss Granger," a voice chided.

Hermione looked up and saw Madam Pomfrey bustling over to her.

"I know you had an eventful evening, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey said, "But there is no need for that language."

"Eventful?" Hermione asked, "That's quite the word for it. It was a bloody war. What happened to Voldemort? The Death Eaters? How many people did we lose?"

Madam Pomfrey looked at her with a concerned expression. "My dear, you must have had a nightmare. Those Dementors must have done quite a lot of work to you. And Sirius Black and a werewolf on top of that? I can understand why you had a nightmare."

Hermione's eyes widened. Dementors? Sirius Black? Werewolf?

"What day is it, Madam Pomfrey?" Hermione asked.

"June 6th," Madam Pomfrey said, "Almost midnight, so it is nearly June 7th."

"This is going to sound a little weird, I know," Hermione said, "But what _year _is it?"

Madam Pomfrey blinked. "1994, of course. My goodness dear, you really must have hurt your head. I need to get you a Concussion Draught."

Hermione's quick mind began to whirl. _So, somehow I have traveled back in time to the end of my third year. And hopefully, Harry has too. It is the evening of Sirius and Buckbeak's escape. Nearing midnight? Have we used the time turner yet?_

"Has Professor Dumbledore come by yet?" Hermione asked.

"I do not think so," Madam Pomfrey said.

Hermione nodded. _Dumbledore will be coming in at any moment asking me and Harry to use the time turner to save Sirius and Buckbeak. _

"Stay right here," Madam Pomfrey said, "Don't worry about Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. Harry is just fine and Ron simply has a broken leg. I'll be back with your Draught."

Hermione narrowed her eyes as she looked across the room and saw Ron fast asleep, snoring loudly. It took her all she had not to grab her wand and curse the bastard. Then she realized... she needed to use her wand. Madam Pomfrey might tell Dumbledore about her questions about the date and year. As Madam Pomfrey walked away from the bed, Hermione grabbed her wand from the bedside table and pointed it at the nurse. She cast a silent Obliviate, and prayed that it worked.

Madam Pomfrey paused in her step and shook her head. Hermione smiled. It had worked! Which meant that she had her advanced magical skills of her eighteen year old self, as well as her memories. But she was still fourteen years old. This was _too _weird!

She glanced at Harry and realized she needed to wake him up. She stood from the bed and walked over to Harry, then shook him awake. Instantly he woke up and looked at her with wide eyes. She could tell he was going to loudly say something, so she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. She allowed him to return the kiss briefly before she backed away.

"Yes, I look fourteen years old," she whispered. "You look thirteen. Whatever happened in that cabinet, it made us travel back in time somehow. We're back at the night of Sirius' escape at the end of third year. I don't think we've used the time turner to go back though yet."

Harry's eyes widened as he glanced at her. "We traveled through time?"

"Yes," Hermione said; suddenly she heard voices outside the Hospital Wing. "Showtime, Harry. Soon, Dumbledore is going to tell us to use the Time Turner. Play along."

Harry nodded and sat up.

Shocking business," Cornelius Fudge's voice said, "shocking... miracle none of them died... never heard the like... by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..."

"Thank you, Minister." Snape's cool voice said.

"Order of Merlin, Second Class," Fudge said, "I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister," Snape said.

"Nasty cut you've got there," Fudge said, "Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact," Snape said, "it was Potter, Weasley, and Granger, Minister.. . ."

"_No_!" Fudge said, in shock.

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately," Snape continued, "A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent. They weren't responsible for their actions. On the other hand, their interference might have permitted Black to escape... They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. They've got away with a great deal before now. . . . I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves... and of course Potter has always been allowed an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster —"

"Ah, well, Snape," Fudge said, "Harry Potter, you know - we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."

"And yet — is it good for him to be given so much special treatment?" Snape asked, "Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be suspended — at the very least — for leading his friends into such danger. Consider, Minister — against all school rules — after all the precautions put in place for his protection — out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer — and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too —"

"Well, well, we shall see, Snape, we shall see," Fudge said, "The boy has undoubtedly been foolish. What amazes me most is the behavior of the Dementors. You've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister," Snape said, "by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..."

"Extraordinary," Fudge said, "And yet Black, and Harry, and the girl —"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them," Snape said, "I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

"Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey said, "I told you to stay in bed."

Madam Pomfrey now came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed. Hermione turned to look at her.

"Harry woke, ma'am," Hermione said.

"I can see that," she said briskly. She placed the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer. "Get back in bed, Miss Granger. You two will be staying here until I'm satisfied you're — Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry put on his glasses and picked up his wand.

"I need to see the Headmaster," Harry said.

"Potter," said Madam Pomfrey soothingly, "it's all right. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The Dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now —"

"You don't understand," Harry said, "He's innocent!"

Suddenly the doors to the Hospital Wing opened. Minister Fudge and Snape walked into the room.

"Ah, Harry, you're awake," Fudge said, "Professor Snape was just telling me all about what happened. It seemed you had quite the night."

"Sirius is innocent, Minister," Harry said.

Hermione knew Harry wanted to say more, but she grasped his hand and squeezed it. Harry looked at her and she shook her head. She had a plan already, but she couldn't say it in front of everyone else.

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, both of them. Black's done a very good job on them."

"Shut the fuck up, Snape," Harry growled. "Minister, please. Tell me this. Would a Pensieve and/or Veritaserum help my claims?"

Fudge stammered. "I – well – ah – I highly doubt it, Harry. You have been the victim of the Confundus Curse it seems. I know... I _know _you want to tell me different, but how can we know?"

"Then why can't you just ask Sirius?" Harry asked. "Veritaserum would do the trick."

"Potter, it is inadmissible in the court of law," Snape said, "Why would you think the Minister could pass it here? So like your father. He trusted Black too, and look how he ended up. You don't want to go the same route."

"Now, Severus," Fudge said, "That's not very considerate of you. Harry's had a rough night."

Harry looked like he wanted to say something else. However, the Hospital Wing doors opened again and Albus Dumbledore strode into the room. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. Apparently the man had been trying to kill her for the past three years. What else was he trying to do? What else had he done to her? To Harry?

Harry turned to the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black —"

"For heaven's sake!" said Madam Pomfrey hysterically. "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist —"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Miss Granger," said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black —"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive —"

"That, indeed, is Black's story," said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy — please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madam Pomfrey "They need treatment, they need rest -"

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone," Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step toward Dumbledore.

"Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen," he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill _me_?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry and Hermione. Hermione knew that Harry wanted to say something to him, but she squeezed his hand. Dumbledore's eyebrows raised as he looked at their entwined hands.

"Do I sense the seeds of romance blooming?" he asked.

"That is none of your business, Headmaster," Hermione said, "I believe you wanted to speak to us."

Dumbledore peered at Hermione, his eyes twinkling. Hermione looked away, just in case he tried to use Legilimency on her. She really needed to study Occlumency, and she needed to teach Harry! Dumbledore _could not _know they were time travelers.

"I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time," he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word — and the word of two thirteen-year-old wizards -"

"Fourteen year old witch, Headmaster," Hermione corrected.

"My apologies," Dumbledore said, "The word of two young students will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses swore they saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper."

"What evidence?" Hermione asked, "When did you give it? I read nothing about Sirius having a trial."

"That is neither here nor there, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, "Not at this time anyway."

"Time is a tricky thing, Professor," Hermione said, as she stroked the necklace of her time turner. "That is what it all comes down to, isn't it? That is why you're here? You want me and Harry to use the Time Turner and go back in time and save Sirius and Buckbeak?"

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows as he looked at Hermione. "You are indeed the smartest witch of your age. That is indeed what I want you to do. Now, pay attention Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you: _you must not be seen. _Miss Granger, you know the law — you know what is at stake... _You _— _must _— _not _— _be _— _seen._"

Dumbledore turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door.

"I am going to lock you in. It is —" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Hermione turned to Harry as the doors shut. She cast a Muffliato charm around them, just in case Ron was awake or Dumbledore was still listening.

"How did this happen?" Harry asked, "How are we back at the end of third year?"

"That cabinet," Hermione said, "When the spells hit it, it must have somehow knocked us back in time."

"Then why aren't we in our older bodies?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "Look, Dumbledore wants us to go back to earlier tonight. I have a better plan."

"Which is what?" Harry asked.

"We go back twelve hours," Hermione said, "That will give us time to discuss the situation we're in. I still need to explain to you everything that Ron told me. I know we can't be seen. So... we can spend most of the time in the Room of Requirement. Then – when was it when we were going down to Hagrid's?"

"You expect me to remember?" Harry asked.

"Half-past-seven," Hermione said, "I'm almost sure of it. If we arrive around noon, that will give us seven hours to discuss stuff and do other things."

"Other things?" Harry asked, "Like what... pass the time snogging?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "No. I was thinking more along the lines of leaving Hogwarts."

"We can't," Harry said, "Someone will know."

"Harry, if we're careful, nobody is going to know," Hermione said, "Our other selves will still be here. We could go to Diagon Alley or... wherever we want. However, we can't do anything that will mess up what happened tonight. That part already happened. We can't change it."

"Wait... we can change the future," Harry said, "We came back in time. We can make it so the Second War doesn't even happen."

"We'll discuss that in the Room of Requirement," Hermione said, "Come here."

Harry walked over to her, and Hermione extended the chain of the necklace and wrapped it around Harry's neck. Then she began turning the hourglass, counting until it reached twelve.

And for the second time in only a few minutes, Hermione and Harry traveled through time.

* * *

**So begins my newest story.**

**Yes, this will be a Harem story. Hermione, plus three Betrothal Contracts (Susan, Daphne and Luna). Will there be more girls too? We'll see. I could have Gabrielle and Tonks along for the ride. I don't know yet. I'll think about it. This is also a Manipulative and Sort-of Evil Dumbledore, and bad Ron and Molly – maybe Ginny, maybe not. We'll see.**

**Basically this story is your typical fourth year time travel story with a few of my twists in play. And it might lengthen to after fourth year as well. Harry and Hermione will seek to change the future (save Sirius, defeat Voldemort and his Death Eaters, defy Dumbledore, get their revenge on Ron and Molly. So on and so forth.**

**Next chapter: Nine hours before they must save Buckbeak and Sirius, Harry and Hermione have a discussion in the Room of Requirement and go to Diagon Alley.**

**My other stories "The Harem War" and "Lily's Next Great Adventure" are my main two priorities, so don't expect this to update every day or two. It will more than likely update once a week, I hope. That will be my goal. **


	2. Discussions and Meetings

**Chapter 2  
Discussions and Meetings**

**Author's Note: Decided to post this chapter early thanks to the awesome and overwhelming response to the previous chapter. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, following and adding this story to your favorites. It means a lot to me.**

**In the book, when they use the time turner, they switch locations. In the movie, they don't go anywhere. I am using the move version.**

**Much of the content in this chapter has been copied and edited for storyline purposes from my stories "The Harem War" and "Lily's Next Great Adventure". If you read those stories, you will probably recognize portions of this chapter. Also, the Emancipation Process in this story is different than in "The Harem War" when it comes to requirements.**

* * *

Harry closed his eyes as the Hospital Wing began to spin around him. He opened them a few moments later when he felt Hermione take the necklace away from him.

Hermione looked toward the grandfather clock on the other side of the room. "High noon. Perfect. Thank Merlin nobody is in here right now. Madam Pomfrey must be in the Great Hall for lunch. Come on. And we can't be seen."

"Wish I had my Invisibility Cloak," Harry said.

Hermione rolled her eyes and tapped her wand on the top of his head. He felt a cool sensation, like an egg running down the back of his neck. Then she did the same to herself.

"Disillusionment Charm," Harry said, "Good idea. Wait, I can still see you."

"I can see you too," Hermione said, "It is a simple modification to the Charm, so we can see each other. Otherwise, we wouldn't know where each other is. However, we can still be heard and people can still walk into us."

"And Mrs. Norris can probably smell us," Harry added.

"Right," Hermione said, "So we need to be careful. Come on."

Hermione took Harry's hand and made their way out of the Hospital Wing, moving slowly just in case Madam Pomfrey was still somewhere in the Wing. They headed through the corridors and made their way toward the Grand Staircase. Harry was still trying to process everything in his mind. Somehow they had traveled nearly four years back in time. But instead of remaining in their older bodies, they were once again thirteen and fourteen years old. With their knowledge of the future, and apparently magical abilities of their older selves to boot, they could change the future for the better.

Harry realized that – if done right – he could destroy Voldemort in the graveyard the night he attempted to return to full body. He and Hermione would just need to find the Horcruxes again. Which should be easy now that they knew where they were. The only one they had no experience with was the ring at the Gaunt residence. It would take a few miracles, but if done right, they could save Sirius, Cedric Diggory, Mad-Eye, Ted Tonks and everyone else who had died.

It was strange hearing the peaceful silence as they walked through the corridors. What seemed like minutes ago – though technically it was nearly four years into future – these halls were the sights of deadly battles, war and chaos.

Ten minutes after they left the Hospital Wing, they were standing Disillusioned in front of the Room of Requirement. Harry stared at the wall for a moment, then turned to Hermione.

"Should we get the Diadem?" Harry asked.

"And do what with it?" Hermione asked, "We can't destroy it yet. We don't have the means."

"The Sword of Gryffindor – impregnated with Basilisk venom – is in Dumbledore's office," Harry said.

"We can't take it right now!" Hermione said, "Dumbledore would surely notice. He probably would have noticed before he requested us to go back in time. We can't risk that. Let's just leave the Diadem where it is. It will be fine until we can take it."

"Alright," Harry said.

He paced back and forth in front of the wall, and thought to himself "_We need a room where we can sit and relax and have a discussion." _He repeated the phrase twice more and smiled when the familiar door appeared. He opened the door and led Hermione into the room. Harry was rather surprised when he found that the room had replicated the Gryffindor Common Room. He lead Hermione over to a couch in front of a roaring hearth and they sat down.

They stared at each other for a moment. Then they met in the middle in a deep and passionate kiss. It was a kiss of love, but also of relief that they were okay and together. They both knew they had just been through a series of events that could have ended in their deaths. They had been trapped in that cabinet, and if it wasn't for whatever magic that made them travel through time, they could have died in that cabinet. Draco Malfoy and his cronies could have torn apart that cabinet and both of them with their onslaught of spells. Both Harry and Hermione knew that, and their kiss phrased that in a way words could not express.

When Hermione backed away to catch her breath, Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and she smiled and curled up against him.

"I love you, Harry," Hermione said, "I wouldn't want to be in this... scenario we're in... with anyone else."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry said. "I wanted to tell you for so long, but something was holding me back."

"It wasn't your fault, Harry," Hermione said, as she looked at him, "It was Amortentia."

"Love Potion?" Harry asked.

"Ron and Molly dosed us both with Love Potion," Hermione said, "Ron told me that. Yours was keyed to Ginny and mine to Ron. I don't know whether or not Ginny was in on the scheme. Ron said that the doses began around the end of fifth year. Apparently when I was nearly killed in the Department of Mysteries, you began to realize how much you fancied me. Maybe it wasn't love at the time. I don't know. But Ron and Molly began giving you dosages of the Potion and you slowly began to fall for Ginny."

"Why would they do that?" Harry asked.

"Part of the reason was Ron was jealous," Hermione said, "He didn't want you to steal me away from him. I guess I too began to realize how much I loved you and he realized that. Even when he was dating Lavender, he dosed me so I wouldn't choose to be with you. But that isn't all. It gets much worse."

"How?" Harry asked.

"Molly wanted you to fall in love with Ginny," Hermione said, "If that happened and Ginny became pregnant whilst still underage – well, if you died in the war, then Molly would inherit some of your funds because of the baby, and because Ginny was underage. Then Ginny would get the money as well."

"What money?" Harry asked, "All I have is the money in my Vault."

"Harry, does your Vault never seem to run out of money?" Hermione asked.

"Er... now that you mention it," Harry said, "I thought I would have spent most of it by now – or rather by my seventeenth birthday. But I don't think I made a dent."

"That is because it refills to a specific amount every year," Hermione said, "I think you have a larger Vault that belonged to your parents before they died. There must be a quite a bit of money in that Vault, along with who knows what else. And each year your Trust Vault is filled with some of the money from the main Vault."

"And Molly and Ron wanted my money?" Harry asked.

"Don't you find it strange that, more often than not, Molly did your school shopping for you?" Hermione asked, "It was because she wanted to take your key. She knew the money was coming in every year. She could take so much of it, and you wouldn't notice because it refilled. I'm sure it is frowned upon for someone aside from you to keep your key. But Molly probably told the Goblins that you gave her permission."

"I did," Harry said, "I never expected her to steal from me. She's like a mother to me! And you're saying she dosed me with Love Potion?"

"Yes," Hermione said.

"What else did Ron tell you?" Harry asked, "You seemed so upset when you came back from your confrontation with him."

"Ron was never our friend, Harry," Hermione said, "He told me he was paid by Dumbledore to spy on you and bring information back to him. In return, Dumbledore would give him money and good grades."

"Dumbledore is in on this too?" Harry asked.

"I think he's the mastermind," Hermione said, as her eyes became misty, "He wants me dead, apparently."

"What?" Harry asked, shocked, "Why?"

"Because I'm your friend," Hermione said, "Ron said that by being your friend, I was interfering in Dumbledore's plans. He said that Dumbledore knew Quirrel had Voldemort on the back of his head. He also knew about the troll. I was apparently never meant to be in that bathroom – instead I was going to my dormitory and Dumbledore placed an Imperius Curse on me and sent me to the bathroom, where he had placed troll lure inside. He – he wanted the troll to kill me. When it didn't, he allowed me to be your friend, because I'd help you solve the mystery about the Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore wanted you to go after the Stone. He wanted to see if you had what it took to defeat Voldemort."

"So right from the start he was training me to kill Voldemort," Harry said.

"Yes," Hermione said, "But he always kept information from you. He didn't tell you the Prophecy, until you found out about it for yourself. And... he never told you that you have a Horcrux in your scar."

Harry raised a hand to his scar and traced a finger along it. "So... what? Did Dumbledore expect me to be killed so the Horcrux would be gone? I am destined to defeat Voldemort, how else would he be defeated?"

"With the last Horcrux – you – being gone," Hermione said, "Voldemort would be mortal. Anyone could kill him then."

"Dumbledore never planned to die," Harry said. "He wanted to kill Voldemort once Voldemort killed me. He wanted to take the glory."

"I've come to that conclusion as well," Hermione said, "Dumbledore's been using you all these years. He knows how smart I am. With me out of the way, I wouldn't be able to stray you off the path from the destiny he wanted. Dumbledore tried to kill me so many times. He didn't have anything to do with me being Petrified, but Ron said that Dumbledore wouldn't have cared if I had died. Then the time turner? He let me use it because he hoped I'd go insane from the pressure. He told us to go back in time, because it would give me another shot at getting bit by Remus. If I wasn't killed by Remus, I'd be a werewolf and Dumbledore would expel me. And the second task of the Triwizard Tournament? Viktor was supposed to have a family member in the lake. Dumbledore put me there in hopes I would drown."

By the time she finished, tears were streaming down her face. Harry held her tightly against him and she let loose as she sobbed into his shirt. Harry stared into the fireplace as he thought about what Hermione had told him. It was strange how unbelievable, and also how believable it was at the same time. Hermione was his best friend – with Ron's apparent betrayal, Hermione was now his only best friend. She was also the most brilliant witch of the age. It wasn't too outlandish that Dumbledore would want to get rid of her, especially if he was plotting to use Harry for his own means.

"I promise, Hermione," Harry said, "I'll kill him if he even looks at you funny."

Hermione sniffled and backed away from Harry's shirt. "I think he wanted to use Legilimency on me tonight, but I looked away. We need to learn Occlumency, Harry. Nobody can know we've come back in time."

"You're right," Harry said, "If Dumbledore found out, he'd make us tell him what we know about the future, then he'd Obliviate us and make us live out the timeline in our younger bodies again."

"And he would change the future to match how he wanted," Hermione said. "Yeah."

"Not going to happen," Harry said. "We need to discuss how we're going to take advantage of this."

"Well, first off there is Ron," Hermione said, "We need to distance ourselves from him and his mother. However it is funny how easy that can be done."

"How?" Harry asked.

"I am your girlfriend, aren't I?" Hermione replied.

"I haven't exactly asked you that, have I?" Harry asked. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Hermione smiled and pecked him on the lips. "You don't know how long I wanted you to ask me that. Yes, Harry, I will be your girlfriend. Now, all we have to do is snog in the vicinity of Ron. He'll act all jealous and confrontational, and we tell him that if he can't support us, then we can no longer be friends with him."

"Ron's always been jealous toward me – he thinks I get everything he can't have," Harry said, "When in reality, he has a family – something I want."

"And I promise you'll get that family you want," Hermione said. "You're correct, after all. Ron's petty jealousy will raise his temper, and more likely than not, it will end our friendship with him."

"Given that it seems he was never our friend," Harry said, "I'd be quite okay with that."

"Me too," Hermione said, "However, we'll still have to be wary around him. Dumbledore could force him to remain friends with us. Or... Molly's Love Potions would come in to play much earlier than it did before, and she'd tried to split us apart by making us fall in love with someone else."

"We'll just have to take the Mad-Eye route, and check our food and drink," Harry said.

Hermione nodded. "Alright, next on the agenda – Voldemort, the Death Eaters and his Horcruxes. We can apparently get the Horcrux in your scar removed if we talk to the Goblins. And in the same discussion, we can bring up the fact that there is a Horcrux at Gringotts."

"I love the way your mind works," Harry said.

"Thanks," Hermione said, "However, I see a problem with that. I think your Parselmouth abilities are because of the Horcrux. Without the Horcrux in your scar, the Parselmouth abilities may vanish, and we won't be able to get into the Chamber of Secrets. If we can't get the Sword of Gryffindor, we need to get the Basilisk fangs."

"Okay," Harry said, "Why don't we go down to the Chamber of Secrets today? Before we go and rescue Sirius and Buckbeak?"

"As much as I'd like to do that," Hermione said, "It is much too risky. However, there is a possible solution. I think we should go to Diagon Alley today. To Gringotts. We can meet with the Goblins and talk to them about the Horcrux in your scar, as well as the one in the bank. I'm not sure if it is a good idea to specifically pinpoint where the Horcrux is, though. We can just tell them we believe a Death Eater has it in one of their Vaults."

"Probably the best solution," Harry said.

"While we're there," Hermione said, "We can figure out what to do with your family's accounts. You're the last living heir to your family. You should get control of it. Maybe not total control until you're seventeen, but you should get at least some control over it. Enough to where Dumbledore and Molly can't steal from you anymore. Speaking of... I think we should find out if money has been stolen from your Vaults already. I have a bad feeling we're going to find out that this has been going on for a while."

Harry grimaced. "Alright. So... we inform Gringotts about the Horcrux in their Vaults. We also tell them about the Horcrux in my scar, however we tell them we need to retrieve the Basilisk's fangs before it can be removed."

"We could just harvest the whole Basilisk," Hermione said, "I've heard Goblins treat Basilisk meat as a delicacy. They may volunteer to help us harvest it. We could get quite a lot of money from that. Millions of Galleons maybe. Basilisk parts are very rare."

"Okay, but I don't want to claim all the money," Harry said, "Part of it should go to the victims. Ginny, Myrtle's family, Colin Creevey, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Penelope Clearwater... you."

"That's very sweet of you," Hermione said, "But -"

Harry pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. "Not backing down from this. A share of the money will be yours. You can do a lot with it."

Hermione smiled. "Alright. So... the other Horcruxes. The Diadem will be quite simple to claim – we know that already. We can easily get to the one in Grimmauld Place. Once we free Sirius, we ask for entry into the house. Hmm... that might be complicated without telling him we're from the future. We'll work on that."

"Then there is the one in the Gaunt shack," Harry said, "The one that cursed Dumbledore."

"More than likely, he was cursed because he foolishly put it on his finger," Hermione said, "We know better. The bad news is that the shack must be well guarded with wards and defensive enchantments."

"Even worse news is this," Harry said, "before the end of the summer, Voldemort will be in the Riddle House, which is in the same area as the Gaunt shack."

"So you're not going to argue that Pettigrew must escape tonight?" Hermione asked.

"He needs to find Voldemort," Harry said, "Voldemort needs to return the night of the third task so I can defeat him once and for all."

"I was thinking along the same lines," Hermione said.

"The problem is," Harry said, "I believe his snake, Nagini, is a Horcrux. Or she will be. She needs to die before I can defeat him."

"When is she made a Horcrux, do you know?" Hermione asked.

Harry thought about it. "Bertha Jorkins disappears this summer. Pettigrew kidnaps her and Voldemort interrogates her about the Triwizard Tournament."

Hermione frowned. "Damn. We can't save Bertha then. It is her death that sparks the events that leads Voldemort to the cemetery."

"What about Crouch, Junior?" Harry asked.

Hermione winced. "That will be difficult. He'll be here as Mad-Eye, and we can't do anything about it if we want things to play out."

"We'll just have to be careful around him," Harry said.

"Right," Hermione said, "So, we'll work on figuring out how to obtain the ring Horcrux from the Gaunt shack. We may have to tell someone else we're from the future. Maybe Sirius. He'd be the biggest help, and it will be easier to get the locket as well."

"Hermione, it is too risky," Harry said.

"I know," Hermione said, "but it seems like the best plan. Okay... so, we've figured out what to do with Voldemort and his Horcruxes. What about his Death Eaters?"

"We kill them," Harry said.

"Harry!" Hermione said, scandalized, "We can't -"

"Think about it, Hermione," Harry said, "I'm going to be surrounded by Death Eaters in that cemetery when I defeat Voldemort. The less Death Eaters there are in the cemetery, the more chance I will survive."

"We can send Aurors and others to the cemetery," Hermione said, "you won't be outnumbered."

"A nice idea, Hermione," Harry said, "but what about after that? Once I defeat Voldemort, the Death Eaters might scatter. More than likely, they'll be pissed off. We can end the Second War. It won't end if they're still around killing people."

Hermione sighed. "As much as I hate it, you have a good point. We'll discuss it more at another time. Alright, so we have Voldemort, his Horcruxes, and the Death Eaters. We have a plan to remove ourselves from Ron and Molly's manipulations. What about Dumbledore?"

Harry sighed. "He really wants to kill you, doesn't he?"

"And he wants to use you for his own means," Hermione said, "Remember what it said in Rita Skeeter's book about Dumbledore? The Greater Good? What if he is still obsessed with the Greater Good? Look at it this way. He wants you to die during your fight with Voldemort. After you die, he can swoop in and claim the victory. With his victory, the wizarding world sees him as the savior. He could do whatever he wanted... he could mold the wizarding world into his favor."

"And possibly use it for selfish means, such as The Greater Good," Harry said.

"Exactly," Hermione said, "We need to stop him from doing that."

"How?" Harry asked, "Are you saying we should kill him? First of all, he apparently has the Elder Wand."

"Didn't you say Draco was able to disarm him the night he died?" Hermione asked.

Harry nodded slowly. "So he can be defeated even with the wand."

"Yes," Hermione said, "I'm not saying we should kill Dumbledore. There are other ways to destroy a man without killing him."

"Quite a few ways," Harry said, "Between our future knowledge, the knowledge we have about his past, and all the positions he holds. We can do a lot to him."

"Exactly," Hermione said. "He's going to wish he never tried to kill me."

"You're sexy when you're plotting," Harry said, grinning.

Hermione blushed profusely, and leaned in to him and kissed him softly. He returned the kiss with passion. The couple only backed away a minute later due to lack of oxygen.

"Alright," Hermione said, breathing heavily, "If we're going to go to Gringotts, we need to do it now, so we can make it back by seven-thirty."

"And how do you propose we do that?" Harry asked, "I have no doubts you can Apparate, but that damnable Trace will find us the minute we leave the grounds if we try to do magic."

"So we don't Apparate," Hermione said, "We use the Floo Network."

Harry was about to ask how they would achieve that, when suddenly, the hearth in front of them transformed into something that resembled the fireplace at the Burrow. It was large enough for them to walk into.

"That was easy," Hermione said, "I just silently asked the room to create a Floo."

"Are you sure that will work?" Harry asked.

"The Room gives us anything we require," Hermione said, "It should allow us to Floo away from Hogwarts. One problem though. When we leave, the room will probably change. So when we come back here, we'll have to use the passage from Hogsmeade and get back into the castle."

"Alright," Harry said.

"However," Hermione said, "we need to change our appearances since we'll be walking through Diagon Alley. We'll be arriving at the Leaky Cauldron, after all. I can do that."

Over the next few minutes, Hermione charmed and transfigured Harry's features so he looked different. Hermione then did the same to herself whilst using a body-length mirror.

"Well, that is certainly passable," Hermione said, "We might risk angering the Goblins doing this though."

"No worse than casting an Imperius Curse at a Goblin," Harry said, "and breaking into a Vault, then stealing a dragon."

Hermione giggled. "True."

Harry laughed as well. The memory of the Gringotts heist was too fresh to forget something like that. It was still shocking to believe they had succeeded. Harry then walked over to the fireplace. On top of the mantel, there was a bag and Harry discovered that it was full of Floo Powder. He grabbed a handful of the green ash-like powder, and tossed it into the fire, which instantly turned an emerald green color.

"Ladies first," Harry said, offering the bag to Hermione.

"Speak very clearly," Hermione said, "We're going to the Leaky Cauldron and I don't want you to end up elsewhere."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said.

Hermione smiled and stepped into the fireplace. She dropped the powder as she said, "The Leaky Cauldron!" She vanished right before his eyes. He waited a full minute, then took another handful and stepped into the fireplace.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" Harry said, dropping the powder.

He closed his eyes as he took the dizzying journey through the Floo Network. After nearly a minute, his feet landed on solid ground. He stepped out amidst a cloud of ash and soot. When it dissipated he found Hermione waiting nearby. They exchanged smiles at the reunion, both thankful that they had been able to make it past the Hogwarts wards. Harry walked over to her, took her hand and the couple made their way through to the back alley behind the building. When they arrived at the brick wall, Hermione tapped her wand along in the correct pattern on the bricks. The wall then melted into an archway, revealing the marketplace beyond.

As he and Hermione made their way down the cobbled path, Harry smiled at the sight of a peaceful, active Diagon Alley. Everywhere, witches and wizards doing their shopping were walking in and out of stores which showed no signs of the horrors that would take place in a few years if Harry and Hermione didn't succeed with their plans. Ollivander's Wand Shop looked good as ever. At the ice cream shoppe, Florean Fortescue – rumored to have been murdered in the future Harry and Hermione had come from - was assisting a customer. The only difference was that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was not where it should be. That was a rather odd experience for Harry. Fred and George were innocent, unlike their youngest brother and mother. He was quite sure of it. He would, once again, help them with their dreams of opening a joke shop.

Soon, the couple stepped into the atrium of Gringotts Wizarding bank. They made their way over to a vacant counter where a Goblin was counting coins.

"State your business," the Goblin said, without looking up from the coins.

"Greetings," Harry said, in a low tone, "My name is Harry Potter. I'd like to speak to someone about my account."

The Goblin looked up at Harry and stared at him for a moment. "Follow me, please. You may bring the female with you."

Hermione scowled, but Harry squeezed her hand before she could do anything else that might sound insulting. They followed the Goblin across the room. Then the Goblin met with another, this one looking far older than the first. The older Goblin looked toward Harry and smiled softly.

"Greetings," the older Goblin said, "My name is Ragnok the Sixth. I am the Vault Keeper for the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter."

"I am Harry Potter," Harry said, though he had a feeling that was unnecessary, "And this is Hermione Granger."

"Well met," Ragnok said, "Do you trust your lady friend?"

"With my life, sir," Harry said.

"The two of you may follow me," Ragnok said.

Harry and Hermione followed Ragnok toward the side of the Atrium, and through a doorway. They entered a small room which had a table, a few chairs and nothing else.

"You may remove the enchantments on your persons," Ragnok said, as he shut the door. "Your magic will not set off the Trace inside Gringotts."

Harry looked at Hermione, and found that she didn't look too surprised that the Goblin knew they were disguised. She flourished her wand toward him and herself, and their appearances changed back to normal. Ragnok motioned to the table, and the three of them sat down – Harry and Hermione on one side, and Ragnok on the other.

"It is a rare event when students enter this bank alone during a school term," Ragnok said, "I'm going to assume that you're here without the knowledge of one of your Professors."

Hermione blushed and looked slightly ashamed. "Yes, sir. However, I don't think anyone will miss us."

"I see," Ragnok said. "May I ask why you are here?"

"Several reasons I suppose," Harry said, "The first is about my family's account."

"Better late than never," Ragnok said.

"Pardon?" Harry asked.

"I was expecting this meeting on your eleventh birthday," Ragnok said.

"I was accompanied by Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper at Hogwarts," Harry said, "I didn't know I was to meet with you. The Goblin, Griphook, took me to my Trust Vault, and that was it."

"He should have directed you to me," Ragnok said, "I can only guess why he did not."

"Maybe Albus Dumbledore told him not to?" Hermione suggested. "We have reason to believe Dumbledore has been manipulating Harry."

"That was my guess as well," Ragnok said, "Albus Dumbledore is your Magical Guardian, Mr. Potter. It would be him who is responsible for things like this."

"Hermione and I have reason to suspect he, and another person, may have stolen money from my account over the years," Harry said.

"I see," Ragnok said, "Do you know who this other person is?"

"Molly Weasley," Harry said.

"Also known as Molly Prewett," Ragnok said, "This could explain several incidents in the past. Once a month, August, every year for the past several years – Molly Prewett Weasley places a nice sum of money into her private Vault that is not connected to her family."

"Let me guess," Hermione said, "Money has disappeared from Harry's vaults shortly before she places money into hers?"

"Quite possibly," Ragnok said, "Dumbledore and I have spoken in the past, and he has told me he has taken money out for your benefit."

"I've never received any money from him," Harry said, "And if he gave it to my Muggle relatives, they never bought anything for me. They probably used it for themselves."

Ragnok sighed, a guttural sound. "I will investigate this thoroughly. "You have my word. If he is suspect in theft against your accounts, then I assume you want him removed from such permission?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, "I want to be the only one responsible for opening my Vault unless I give the authority otherwise."

"That can be easily done," Ragnok said. "The reason I wished for you to meet me on your eleventh birthday, is because it was requested by your parents."

"My parents?" Harry asked.

"Before they died, they collaborated together to make a Will," Ragnok said. "They created it a week after you were born, and updated it through post less than a week before their deaths. Droplets of their blood confirmed it was them who finalized the Will."

"I was unaware they made a Will," Harry said.

"I was a witness to the creation of their Will," Ragnok said, then he grimaced, "As was Albus Dumbledore."

"So whatever was penned in the Will," Hermione said, "Dumbledore would have known about!"

"He may not have known about the updates," Ragnok said, "but otherwise you are correct. If your parents passed away and you survived, you were meant to open the Will at eleven years old and receive everything pertaining to their instructions. I believe they also requested an Inheritance Test, as well as Emancipation."

Hermione gasped. "If you're Emancipated, you no longer have a Guardian. Dumbledore would no longer be your Magical Guardian and the Dursleys wouldn't be your guardians either. You would legally never have to step back in Privet Drive again. Also the Trace would be removed from your wand."

"Basically correct," Ragnok said, "But since you are so young, it would be suggested you have what is known as a Mentor – which would basically be your acting Guardian in the Muggle world. You can go through with the Emancipation process and Inheritance Test, but first I suggest you open and read your parents' Will, as well as other documents that pertain to you."

"Alright," Harry said.

The Goblin snapped his bony fingers, and a large metal box appeared on the table with a sharp _clang! _The unexpected appearance made Harry and Hermione jump. Ragnok ran a single long finger down the center of the box's lid, then removed the lid. The box was filled with creme-colored folders.

Ragnok rummaged through the box, and took out what appeared to be a large metal contraption that resembled a rolling pin. He set the contraption in front of Harry.

"Place one finger on the container," he instructed, "You will feel a light pinprick. I assure you it is not dangerous. It will remove a dollop of your blood, then you will be healed straight away."

Harry shivered slightly, hesitated for a moment, then pressed a finger on one container. He winced lightly at the pinprick. The container made a metallic grinding noise as it rolled backward toward Ragnok. The container formed into a scroll of parchment, which rolled flat onto the table. Ragnok cleared his throat and stated:

"I, Ragnok The Sixth, the Vault Keeper of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. am witness to the Reading of the Last Will and Testament of James Charlus Potter and Lily Marie Potter nee Evans which they collaborated on together. Lord Potter, as the last heir of the Ancient Line, so proven by your blood, make your choice. Do you wish the Reading to be by voice or by your own eyes?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at Ragnok's mention of "Lord Potter", but ignored it for now.

"I will read it myself," Harry said. "And I give permission to Hermione to read it as well."

Hermione blushed red, but said nothing. Ragnok relaxed in his chair, and motioned for Harry to read the Will. Harry leaned forward and began to read to himself, and Hermione did as well.

**We, James Charlus Potter, and Lily Marie Potter nee Evans of able bodies and minds, claim this, our Final Will and Testament.**

**If James is no longer of this Earth, and Lily survives him, he leave the contents of this Will to her until their son, Harry James Potter, reaches his age of majority.**

**If Lily Marie Potter is no longer of this Earth, at the time of this Reading, we leave these various items to the following:**

Harry recognized several familiar names listed there. He was quite surprised to see that a few of his classmates and friends had even been listed – it appeared that his parents were friends with the parents of some of his classmates. Several thousands of Galleons were given as gifts, as well as a few other items.

Harry's eyes widened as he saw his own name listed. There was a number which indicated an obscene amount of Galleons which was apparently now his, as well as the various specific items, most of which were in the Potter Family Vault, was named. Below this, there were more interesting pieces of information. The first explained why Ragnok had called him by his title.

**When Harry reaches the age of eleven, we officially name him Lord Potter, the Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. We also request an official Inheritance Test for Harry so he may discover any and all titles to his name. At this time, if we are no longer of this Earth, I officially ask that my son becomes Emancipated with everything this entails.**

Harry smiled – here was the permission that Ragnok was talking about. Below this there were several names listed again.

**If we are no longer of this Earth, we name these individuals below Harry's Official and Magical Guardians.**

**(In order of preference – if individual is no longer of this Earth, the next name in line becomes Guardian)**

**Sirius Black – Godfather by right of 'The Godfather Ritual'. Family friend and ally.**

**Alice Longbottom, and her husband, Frank – Godmother by right of 'The Godmother Ritual'. Family friends and allies.**

**Amelia Susan Bones – family friend and ally.**

**Pandora Lovegood and her husband, Xenophilius – family friends**

**Andromeda and Ted Tonks – family friends.**

**Castor and Illiana Greengrass**

**By no means, should Harry Potter be raised by Petunia Dursley nee Evans and her husband Vernon.**

Harry scowled as he read this last line. He was _never _meant to be placed with the Dursleys! These witches and wizards – people he knew, people who were apparently friends of his parents – were supposed to be his guardians. He could have grown up with Neville, or Susan Bones, or Luna! And the Greengrasses. He knew Daphne Greengrass was a fellow student, but she was a Slytherin. He also wondered what the Godfather Ritual was. Hermione gasped loudly when she got to this part. It made Harry even more curious. Below this, there was more:

**Property Ownership to be given to Harry James Potter on day of majority or Emancipation:**

**Potter Manor – Northampton, England**  
**Potter Cottage – Godric's Hollow, England**  
**Beach Vacation House – La Rochelle, France**  
**Chateau Potter – Nice, France**

There were also various other locations, which were mostly businesses, some of which were in Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, and Hogsmeade. The most interesting was that Harry now owned forty-five percent of the Daily Prophet, and their side-businesses, Witch Weekly and Teen Witch Weekly. He was also a quarter owner of the Lovegood owned newspaper, The Quibbler. Harry's eyes widened. That may very well come in handy in the future. He figured from the total of the buildings, at least two million Galleons were coming into the Potter Family Vault each year.  
**  
By signing this Final Will and Testament, we vow that everything said here is true and honest,**

**James Charlus Potter and Lily Marie Potter**  
**Witness: Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore**  
**Gringotts Official Witness: Ragnok The Sixth, Potter Family Vault Keeper**

Harry sat back after he finished. Beside him, Hermione looked pale. He looked at her in confusion.

"It says here that Sirius took part in what is known as 'The Godfather Ritual'," Hermione said.

"Er... okay?" Harry asked.

"Harry, that confirms his innocence already!" Hermione said, "The Godfather Ritual is done so that the parents of the child can be sure that the chosen Godparents can't betray them or their child."

"And Dumbledore must have known this!" Harry growled. "That manipulative old bastard."

"I'd tell you to mind your language, but I agree," Hermione said.

"One of those names listed on your suggested guardians is Amelia Bones," Ragnok said, "The current head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in your Ministry. If memory serves correctly, at one point in time, Amelia and Sirius Black were very close, maybe even romantically."

Harry's eyes widened. He did not know that. He did recall Sirius talking about her the day of his Underage Magic hearing. He did seem to know her intimately.

"So we could contact Madam Bones," Hermione said, "And tell her about the Godfather Ritual."

"I would suggest that sometime in the near future," Ragnok said. "It would go far in helping your Godfather, Mr. Potter."

Harry nodded. "I'd like to take the Inheritance Test now."

Ragnok snapped his fingers, and a blank piece of parchment appeared in front of Harry. The parchment seemed to sparkle. Then a small knife with runes cut into it appeared next to the parchment.

"The Inheritance Test is a Blood ritual," Ragnok said, "The Ministry will tell you that Blood rituals are very Dark. Nonsense... it is all about the intentions of the user. Some of these rituals are good, some are done for evil purposes. If a Blood Quill or Blood Blade is ever used on you outside of this bank, it is probably being done for evil purposes. Gringotts is the only location in which all of these types of rituals are legal, and only with a Goblin present. Now, with that said, Lord Potter – take the knife, and slice open your palm on your right hand. Do not fret, the cut will heal when the process is complete. Then drip the blood over the parchment in front of you."

Harry nodded and picked up the knife with his left hand. He opened his right palm, sliced it open with his palm, wincing slightly in the process, and turned his hand over. A few droplets of the coppery blood dripped onto the parchment. Harry watched in awe as the blood seeped into the parchment, then disappeared. Then words began to form, in red ink, or rather, in Harry's blood. Harry then began to read the parchment as the words formed.

**Inheritance Test – Harry James Potter**

**DOB: 31 July 1980**  
**Parents: James Charlus Potter and Lily Marie Evans**

**Official Titles of Lineage:**

**Ancient and Noble Houses:**  
**House Potter – direct descendant - father**  
**House Peverell – direct descendant – father**  
**House Black – direct descendant – grandmother**

**Minor House:**  
**House Evans – direct descendant – mother – second generation**

The name that stood out to him was Peverell, the name of the Three Brothers from Beedle the Bard's tales. He had suspected that the Peverells were ancestors and here was proof.

Ragnok snapped his fingers and a mahogany box appeared on the table. He opened it, and it revealed a pair of rings.

"This box, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "was taken directly from your Family Vault. These two rings are Signet Rings. The Potter ring is quite legendary – it has been said that it has the ability to speak to their heirs through voices of their ancestors."

"You mean... my father will talk to me through the ring?" Harry asked.

The Goblin only shrugged. "You may hear your father's voice, but I doubt you will be able to have too many meaningful conversations. Mostly the rings are meant to give you advice concerning your title of Head of your House. The rings also signify your seat in the Wizengamot at the Ministry. You now claim two seats, Lord Potter, and are heir to a third when it comes to the Black name through your Grandmother, Dorea Black Potter. Sirius Black currently holds that title."

It was then that Harry realized Dumbledore had other schemes toward him, more than just making him a sacrifice. All those seats in the Wizengamot. This was power. Was this one of his end-games?

"You can make the two rings blend into one," Ragnok said, "or keep them as they are. Then when you need to show the ring to someone, just summon the ring to your finger."

"Alright," Harry said.

He picked up the Potter Family ring, then placed it on his ring finger. He placed the Peverell Family ring on his next finger, and studied them. The Peverell ring had the sign of the Deathly Hallows on it, and the Potter Ring had a Griffin spreading its wings above two swords, which were pointing to the left and right of the ring. With a single thought, the two rings merged together in a flash of bright white light. Suddenly, Harry heard a voice in his head.

"_Welcome, Harry James Potter, Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter."_

Harry gasped. He recognized that voice. It belonged to his father, James Potter.

"You were right, Ragnok," Harry said, "When I placed the ring on my finger, I heard my father's voice."

"Excellent," Ragnok said, "It is rare when it happens. Not all Signet Rings will speak to the wearer, but several do. It depends on the magic in their bloodline."

Harry nodded. "You said there are other important documents. What are they?"

A wide grin crossed Ragnok's mouth, and he rummaged through the box, then pulled out three pieces of parchment.

"These three documents, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "were created when you were barely one year old. They were collaborated between your parents and three other families. These three documents, Lord Potter... are Betrothal Contracts."

* * *

**I know, I basically did the same ending for this chapter as I did in "The Harem War" when it comes to Betrothals. Forgive me.**

**Next chapter: Harry discovers who he is betrothed to. Also, Harry gets Emancipated, and he discusses Horcruxes and the Basilisk with Ragnok. Not sure if he will get the Horcrux removed yet. He needs the Parselmouth ability for the Chamber after all.**


	3. Betrothals, Vassalage and More

**Chapter 3  
Betrothals, Vassalage and More**

**Author's Note: Some of the content in this chapter may be familiar to you if you read "The Harem War".**

* * *

_Previously on "The Vanishing Cabinet of Time"...  
_  
_Harry nodded. "You said there are other important documents. What are they?"_

_A wide grin crossed Ragnok's mouth, and he rummaged through the box, then pulled out three pieces of parchment._

_"These three documents, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "were created when you were barely one year old. They were collaborated between your parents and three other families. These three documents, Lord Potter... are Betrothal Contracts."_

* * *

Harry heard a sharp gasp beside him and saw Hermione cover her mouth with her hand. Her eyes grew misty and Harry could tell she wasn't exactly happy about this.

"Betrothal Contract," Harry echoed, "But – isn't that –?"

"A marriage contract, Harry," Hermione said.

"But that doesn't make sense," Harry said, "Three Betrothal Contracts. Am I expected marry three girls?"

"Yes," Ragnok said, "I can see that which your mind is focused on. Whilst Polygamy is frowned upon in the Muggle World, it is perfectly legal for a wizard to marry more than one witch. It is rare, but it happens, mostly due to the extinction of family lines, in order to produce offspring – several children from one male. So you could marry these three witches... and... well, I am going to take a guess and say you two are romantically involved?"

Harry and Hermione nodded.

"I thought as much," Ragnok said, "It is easy to see from your emotions, Miss Granger. However, you'll be happy to know that, if it ever comes down to that point, he could marry you along with these three girls he is betrothed to, and it would be perfectly legal."

"Maybe in the wizarding world," Hermione muttered, "I don't know how my parents would like it."

"You're fourteen, Hermione, remember," Harry said, "I'm thirteen. We have three or four years before we have to think about things like that."

Hermione's eyes widened and she nodded. It seems in her shock at this news, she temporarily forgot she was fourteen again.

"The same would go for these three girls you are betrothed to," Ragnok said. "At the moment they are merely your intended. Once this meeting is over, I am going to send notices to the girls' parents and guardians notifying them that the contracts are active. It is the bank's policy, as is the policy of your Ministry. However, I am sure that they will agree that marriage isn't something to think about until you are of legal age. For now, I would suggest you treat them as friends, and if Miss Granger allows, perhaps additional girlfriends in the future."

Harry cleared his throat. "I think that is something Hermione and I will discuss later. May I see who my betrothed are?"

Ragnok smiled and pushed the three pieces of parchment across the table. Harry picked them up and looked through them. The first read:

**Boy:  
Name: Harry James Potter  
DOB: 31 July, 1980  
Parents: James and Lily Potter ****(both parents deceased)**

**Girl:**  
**Name: Susan Amelia Bones**  
**DOB: March 26th, 1980  
Parents: Edgar and Cynthia Bones (both parents deceased)  
Guardian: Amelia Susan Bones**

Harry raised his eyebrows. In the old timeline, he had known Susan through Dumbledore's Army. Obviously that hadn't happened in this timeline yet, so outside of classes, Susan didn't know him very well. But a Betrothal like this would offer connections to Madam Bones, which would offer a lot in the future when it came to laws and politics.

He then moved to the next piece of parchment and read the second. Under his name, date of birth and names of his parents, his next Betrothed's name was shown.

**Girl:  
Name: Daphne Illiana Greengrass  
DOB: 25 February, 1980  
Parents: Castor and Illiana Greengrass**

Harry grimaced. The only thing he knew about Daphne Greengrass was that she was a Slytherin in his year. He didn't exactly have the best history with the Slytherin House. He vaguely recalled that she was blonde and admittedly rather attractive, even at her present age. But he knew nothing else about her, including her personality. He hoped she wasn't another Pansy Parkinson.

He moved to the third piece of parchment. Under his name, read the third name which surprised him.

**Girl:  
Name: Luna Pandora Lovegood  
DOB: 18 December, 1980  
Parents: Xenophilius and Pandora Lovegood (mother deceased)  
**

He was well associated with Luna in the old timeline, and he certainly wanted to become her friend. Becoming close to her would help her in many ways. Harry recalled hearing stories from her about when she had been bullied by other students. Harry knew that he and Hermione would be able to help her.

Harry looked at Hermione, who was looking at him with questioning eyebrows.

"Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, and Luna Lovegood," Harry said.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Well, it could have been so much worse."

"Mr. Potter," Ragnok said, "It is interesting to note that the names of all three of your Betrothed have a connection amongst themselves. Have you been educated in the history of the Great Alliance?"

"No, sir," Harry said; he looked at Hermione, who looked just as confused.

"The Great Alliance was the coined title for a group of families," Ragnok said, "all of whom had seats on the Wizengamot. The Great Alliance was formed in the late sixties, and existed throughout the seventies. Your Grandfather, Charlus Potter, was the founder of it. Whilst every single member of the Wizengamot has the opportunity to vote during criminal trials, only a small number of Families can vote during the official council meetings. All of these Families are labeled Ancient, Noble, or the combined Ancient and Most Noble Families. The Great Alliance made up forty-percent of the votes. Now, what you must understand is, most alliances are small, maybe ten-to-twenty percent of the votes with each Alliance. So the fact that the Great Alliance was made up of forty percent of the Vote was historic. Any vote they wanted passed was usually passed, any vote they wanted to fall, usually failed."

"Which families were in the Alliance?" Harry asked.

"Potter, of course," Ragnok said, "Longbottom, Bones, Abbot, Boot, MacMillans and Greengrass were those who are Ancient, Noble or both. Patil and Lovegood were the Minor Houses, and while they didn't get any official vote, their opinion was still heard and cherished."

"All of those names – aside from Lovegood – have children who are classmates of mine," Harry said.

"If you had grown up with your parents," Ragnok said, "or with those wizarding guardians suggested in your will, I suspect you would have grown up knowing all of those classmates to the point of becoming friends. The parents and guardians would have wanted this, to ensure that the Great Alliance continued on with their children."

"Most of those families are in the Light Alliance, aren't they?" Hermione asked, "Aside from Greengrass."

"Indeed," Ragnok said, "The Greengrass family is Neutral or Grey. Now, the Great Alliance took a hard hit with the death of your grandfather. James was focused on the war, and his growing family. He had no plans to get into the political world until the war was over. The elder Lord Boot, a prominent member of the Alliance, and an old friend of Charlus', was murdered, a month after the death of your grandfather. Then Madam Bones' brother, Edgar, his wife – your betrothed Susan's parents - and Susan's grandparents were murdered, leaving young Susan the ward of Amelia. After James and Lily were murdered, and Frank and Alice Longbottom attacked, the rest of the Alliance became afraid, believing they were being targeted. By the Solstice Session, the December following your parents' deaths, the Great Alliance was all but finished."

"So... what does this have to do with Betrothal Contracts?" Harry asked.

"Your father knew he might not survive the war," Ragnok said, "But he hoped that you would live to be old enough to continue your grandfather's legacy. He knew that you would need help with it, so he started talking to the families in the Alliance. Betrothing you to these girls ensured that you would continue the legacy with them and their families. Now, when it comes to Betrothals, it also brings us to your Inheritance – specifically your titles as Lord Potter and Lord Peverell. In order to continue these bloodlines, two of your future wives must become Lady Potter and Lady Peverell respectively. Therein lies the problem. Susan Bones and Luna Lovegood are the last of their name. They'll likely take the Line Continuance Option and keep their name. Daphne Greengrass has a younger sister, who might take the Line Continuance Option instead. So Daphne could be Lady Potter or Lady Peverell. And the other title of Lady could go to a fourth wife."

Harry felt his cheeks grow warm as he saw Ragnok's eyes slide to Hermione when he said "fourth wife". Harry turned to Hermione who was staring at her lap and blushing profusely.

"But that can wait for a future discussion," Ragnok said, "Though when it comes to your Betrothed, I think you should plan on meeting their parents and guardians soon to discuss the Contracts. If I were you, I'd also think of finding an adult to represent you on your side of the Contract. Even though you will be Emancipated, an adult might have far more knowledge about these things."

"Okay," Harry said. "Speaking of Emancipation. Can I go through that now?"

"That would be a good idea," Ragnok said, "However, there is something I'd like to discuss when it comes to that. Forgive me, but something tells me you would prefer if Miss Granger goes through the same thing."

"My parents are alive and I am happy with them," Hermione said, "I have no issues with that."

"Ah, but you spoke of your dislike and distrust toward Albus Dumbledore," Ragnok said, "As you are a Muggleborn, Albus Dumbledore is your Magical Guardian because he is your Headmaster."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Um... yeah, I'd prefer if that changed."

"There is another way, Miss Granger," Ragnok said, "You would not be Emancipated technically. Once Lord Potter is Emancipated, he can take you into his House as a Vassal."

"But... a Vassal means servitude in return for protection!" Hermione said.

"You're thinking about it too much," Ragnok said, "By definition and technicality, it certainly does mean that. But I doubt Lord Potter would define it as such when it comes to you. You are his mate, Miss Granger, after all."

Hermione and Harry both blushed at the term – but Harry figured 'girlfriend' wasn't in their vocabulary. Mate just sounded so permanent. True, Harry would love if his relationship with her was permanent, but it sounded strange right now.

"I'd offer protection without servitude," Harry said.

"The Vassal Ritual would not expect servitude if that is something Lord Potter prefers, Miss Granger," Ragnok said, "As his Vassal, you would be protected through his House. This means that if someone tries to control or manipulate you, Lord Potter can step in. Also, if someone were to challenge Harry to an official duel, they cannot make you the so-called 'spoils of their victory', which has been known to happen in the past."

Harry's eyes widened and he leaned over to Hermione and whispered in her ear: "The Second Task. Dumbledore would not be able to put you on the bottom of the lake."

Hermione backed away and looked at him with a smile.

"Also," Ragnok said, "If Lord Potter gives his permission, the Trace would be removed from your person."

"Do it," Hermione said.

"I agree," Harry said, "What do we do?"

"First, you must go through the Emancipation Process," Ragnok said.

Ragnok smiled and snapped his fingers. A piece of parchment and a Blood Quill appeared in Harry. As Harry read the top of the parchment, he realized it was an official Emancipation Form.

"Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "Once you sign this, you will be officially Emancipated, as was requested in your parents' Will. After signing, simply tap the parchment with your wand, and the Trace will be removed from your person. Once you sign, you will no longer need a Guardian. However, a Mentor is suggested, in the event you need someone to pose as your guardian in the Muggle World. I am to inform you that if you find yourself the defendant in a criminal trial, you will be tried as an adult because of your Emancipation."

"Does that mean the Ministry will know about my Emancipation?" Harry asked – if this was true, he knew Dumbledore would discover such things sooner rather than later.

"Only if you are arrested for a crime," Ragnok said. "Otherwise, the information is kept locked up tight in the Hall of Records. However, their daily updated list – which summarizes births, deaths, weddings and betrothals – will not show Emancipation."

"So... my betrothals to Susan, Daphne and Luna will be public knowledge?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Ragnok sighed.

Harry sighed. If this Vassalage worked, he figured he might have to offer the same to his betrothed, to protect them from Dumbledore and others.

"Do you wish to complete this process?" Ragnok asked, "If so, know that it is irreversible."

"I am ready, Keeper Ragnok," Harry said.

"Then sign the parchment on the dotted line with the blood quill," Ragnok said, "and tap it with your wand."

Even though he was quite wary of blood quills, he knew it must be done. He picked up the quill and proceeded to sign his name on the dotted line. His name appeared on the back of his hand in blood for a mere moment, before the cut was healed. He then felt a sense of warmth move through his body. He knew it was the magic of the Emancipation process doing its work. Harry then proceeded to tap his wand on the parchment. The tip of his wand shone in a blood-red light, then the light vanished.

"Congratulations, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, as he vanished the piece of parchment, "You are now considered an Emancipated adult, and your person is now removed of the Trace."

"Brilliant," Harry breathed.

"As for the Vassalage Ritual," Ragnok said, "Simply think of the Ritual in your mind, and your Signet Ring should speak the words to you. First you must touch the tip of your wand with Miss Granger's."

Harry turned to Hermione and they connected wand tips. Harry then heard the ritual's words in his head and he repeated them out loud to Hermione.

"Hermione Jean Granger," Harry said, "Do you, from this day forward, accept the title of Vassal of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter?"

"I do," Hermione said.

"I, Harry James Potter, Lord of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter," Harry said, "do accept Hermione Jean Granger as the Vassal of the House of Potter. In return for proper servitude as I see fit, I offer protection of my House. I vow to defend you from my enemies and opposition with all my power. As Vassal of my House, I remove the Trace from your person so you may serve my House properly as I see fit. So mote it be!"

At once, a golden orb of light surrounded the tip of their wands, then moved down toward their arms. Harry's eyes fluttered as he felt warmth engulf him. He relaxed back in his chair as he inhaled and exhaled deep gulps of breath.

"Congratulations, Hermione Granger, Vassal of the House of Potter," Ragnok said, "I do believe the Trace is now removed from your person."

"Brilliant," Hermione said.

"I do believe that is all I wished to discuss with you," Ragnok said, "Do you have any other issues or questions?"

Harry looked at Hermione and she nodded. Then he turned back to Ragnok. "There is something else, sir. Something that has to do with my scar, and a travesty inside your hallowed halls."

"I assume it has to do with the traces of Dark Magic I detected when you walked into this room?" Ragnok asked.

"Er... I would assume so," Harry said, "I believe I have a Horcrux in my scar – and that it was forced onto me either accidentally or intentionally by Voldemort on that tragic evening my parents died."

"I see," Ragnok said, "And I would assume that you heard we Goblins have the ability and means to remove it?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said. "There is something else too. Voldemort created several other Horcruxes. Possibly six or seven. I might have destroyed one last year in the Chamber of Secrets."

"I heard rumors of that incident," Ragnok said, "I would like to hear the whole tale, Lord Potter."

Harry did his best to give the story of the incident in the Chamber of Secrets. Ragnok looked highly impressed.

"A tale worthy of one of our greatest Goblin Warriors," Ragnok said, "How large would you say the Basilisk was?"

"Er... fifty or sixty feet... maybe?" Harry guessed.

"A carcass that size would amass quite the fortune," Ragnok said.

"Hermione and I wondered if the Goblins of Gringotts might like to assist us in harvesting the creature," Harry said, "We heard Goblins consider the meat a delicacy."

"Indeed," Ragnok said, "A carcass that size would serve several feasts."

"The entrance into the Chamber of Secrets requires a Parselmouth," Harry said, "Due to the Horcrux inside me, I am a Parselmouth."

"But only whilst the Horcrux is inside you," Ragnok said, "I see."

"Yes, sir," Harry said, "I need to get back into the Chamber to obtain the Basilisk's venom in order to destroy any Horcruxes we uncover."

"When does your school term finish?" Ragnok asked.

"Er... tomorrow is Friday," Hermione said, "The Saturday after next."

"Excellent," Ragnok said, "I will contact you before you leave Hogwarts, and inform you of a time myself and a team of experts will come to Hogwarts and harvest the Basilisk. Don't worry about the Headmaster. We will be able to deal with him when it comes to the ownership of the Basilisk. Once that is finished, we can get rid of the Dark magic in your scar. Simply return here when term is over and our Healers will remove the Horcrux from your person."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"Now, what is this so-called 'travesty' in my bank?" Ragnok asked.

"I have reason to believe Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters placed a Horcrux in one of your Vaults," Harry said, "I – er – don't know which one, but I'll assume it is a Death Eater in his high circle. Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, someone up there. Lucius owned the diary Horcrux before he gave it to Ginny Weasley."

Ragnok frowned as his eyebrows narrowed. "I think it is a good assumption that there is one here. After all, this is the most well-protected building in Great Britain. I will put together a team to search for it. If a vile piece of Dark magic is here, we should be able to find it before the weekend is out. Do you have any clue what we may be looking for?"

"A Hogwarts Founder's Artifact," Harry said, "If it is Hufflepuff, then it has a badger on it, and so on and so forth."

"That will make it easier to find," Ragnok said, "I thank you. I assume that is all you wish to speak to me about such things?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"Very well," Ragnok said, "there is one more thing we could do before our meeting ends. Because you are Emancipated now, you are legally of age. Which means that your Family Vault is open to you. Do you have your key to your Trust Vault?"

Harry frowned. "I think Dumbledore is in possession of it."

Ragnok harrumphed. "Of course he is. No matter."

He snapped his fingers and a large gold brick appeared on the table, as well as the Blood Blade that Harry had used for the Inheritance Ritual.

"Prick your finger and let a few droplets of blood drip onto this brick," Ragnok said.

Harry did as was told and winced as he cut his finger. As the crimson droplets of blood pooled onto the brick, they sunk beneath its surface, as if the brick was liquid. Then a key formed out of solid gold, much like the brick, and appeared on top of the brick.

"This key will open any of your Vaults," Ragnok said, "And it will only open for you, since you are currently the last of your bloodline. The other key will be useless. Five Galleons will be removed from your Vault for the fee of the key, but that shouldn't be a problem to pay."

"No, sir," Harry said, remembering the obscenely large number he had seen in his parents' Will.

"Do you wish to visit your Vault?" Ragnok asked, "Miss Granger may accompany you."

"I think I'll save that for my next visit, sir," Harry said. "Though I do need some Galleons."

"Ah, I have answer for that," Ragnok said; he snapped his fingers and a plastic square appeared in front of Harry. "This is a Gringotts Credit Card. Much like a Muggle Credit Card, it can be used to pay for your purchases. The card will work at any and all wizarding and Muggle stores, and when you make a purchase, the money will disappear from your Vault."

"That is quite handy," Harry said, "Thank you."

"Because you have access to the Potter Family Vault," Ragnok said, "do you wish to empty your Trust Vault into the main Vault? The Trust Vault would stay in your possession for later usage if so."

"I think it would be best if you keep it active," Hermione said, "Someone like Dumbledore or Molly may not be able to get into it anymore, but they might still know about it. Since that Vault is active, they wouldn't realize the main Vault is active as well."

"Which means further delay before they discover I am Emancipated," Harry said.

"Indeed," Hermione said.

"I'll keep my Trust Vault active, Keeper Ragnok," Harry said.

"Very well," Ragnok said, "I think that concludes this meeting. As a reminder, your Betrothed's parents will receive notifications that the contracts are active. Also, remember to look for a letter from me about my visit concerning the Basilisk. I might also let you know about the Horcrux we may or may not find here."

"Thank you, Keeper Ragnok," Harry said, "This means a lot to me. You honor me."

"The honor is mine," Ragnok said, "The Potter House has been friends with me and my family for a long time. I was eagerly waiting to meet you."

"I hope s uch friendship remains as is for a long time," Harry said.

"I think that is assured, Lord Potter," Ragnok said.

Ragnok snapped his fingers and the documents returned to the box, then the box disappeared. Harry picked up his key and Credit card and stood up. Ragnok gave the couple permission to return to their disguises, and Hermione quickly did her work on Harry and herself. Then they followed Ragnok out of the room. As they passed an odd-looking Grandfather clock, Harry glanced at the time.

"It is nearly two-thirty," Harry said to Hermione, "We have a little over five hours before we need to return. Plenty of time. I think I'd like to treat my girlfriend to lunch and a date in Diagon Alley."

Hermione smiled and blushed. "I think that is an excellent idea."

Fifteen minutes they were seated at a table in the Leaky Cauldron, and had just ordered two specials – BLTs chips and a butterbeer – from Tom, who said the meal would be ready in ten minutes or less. After Tom left, Harry applied a Muffliato Charm around the table to assure privacy.

"I think we have much to discuss," Harry said, "Shall we start with the Betrothal Contracts?"

"I guess," Hermione said, with a small voice.

"First off," Harry said, "Let me assure you. If I could prevent this somehow, I'd do it. I love you, Hermione. I wish I would have known that back when we really were in our third year. This time around, it gives us that time we missed."

Hermione smiled. "I love you too, Harry. And I'm not upset at you because of these Betrothal Contracts. I'm upset with Dumbledore. You should have learned about these Contracts long ago."

"Do you think Susan, Daphne and Luna already know about the Contracts?" Harry asked.

"I doubt it," Hermione said, shaking her head, "They would have told you if they did. Maybe Susan knew, since she would have become Head of her House after Amelia died. I don't know. Maybe they were waiting until the war was over. After all, nobody knew whether they were going to live or die before the war was over."

"True," Harry said, "How do you feel about all of this?"

"It will be awkward," Hermione said, shrugging. "I mean these girls are technically your fiancees now."

"Right now, I'd be okay if they were just my friends," Harry said, "But you're my girlfriend, Hermione. I don't see that changing. Do you?"

Hermione shook her head. "Aside from the obvious fact that I am technically, in my mind, about four or five years older than the other boys in our school year, I don't see myself falling in love with anyone else but you."

"Ugh, thanks for reminding me," Harry said, "It will feel weird with the girls."

Hermione giggled, then cleared her throat. "What I guess I am trying to say is this: if it comes to us getting married in the future, I suppose I would be fine being one of four wives. I do want to help you have a big family."

"We're thirteen and fourteen at the moment, Hermione," Harry said, "For now, we're in a long-term dating relationship."

"Very long term," Hermione said, "Harry? Since you're Emancipated and you no longer have to live with the Dursleys, where are you going to live?"

Harry frowned. "Haven't really thought about it yet. I hope Sirius will be free by the time the school term ends. Meeting Amelia soon enough would help a lot toward that, especially due to the whole 'Godfather Ritual' that was mentioned in the Will. However, I'm not exactly sure I want Sirius living at Grimmauld Place. The Will did mention residences. I could explore those this summer, I guess."

"The reason I am asking," Hermione said, "is because I am going to write to my parents and tell them you're my boyfriend. I'm also going to ask them if you can stay as a guest for a few days."

"I can easily see them objecting to that, Hermione," Harry said.

Hermione grimaced. "So can I. But I think I can convince them. I'm sure they'd want to meet my new boyfriend, even though I do remember talking to them a lot about you. I'm sure I could assure them that we won't do anything but innocent snogging." Hermione sighed. "The truth is... I am scared to see them. I can't tell them what is going on with me right now. I just can't do it. Also... you and I have a mission we're on. We need to learn Occlumency and – well, this next year is going to be crucial when it comes to Voldemort. We can't waste any time. What I'm trying to say is... if my parents don't allow you to stay for at least a few days, I'll just run away and go wherever you go."

"Are you sure, Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "I had to do it for the Horcrux Hunt. And this is just as crucial as that was. Yes, I am quite sure."

"I'll figure out what is going on with the residences listed on the Will," Harry said, "The one in Godric's Hollow won't be liveable, of course, but there is the Manor in Northampton and two in France."

"That vacation beach house in La Rochelle sounds lovely," Hermione said, "I'd love to visit that."

"Then I will look into that first," Harry said, "I'll see if Sirius and Remus know about it. Oh, hell... Remus."

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Snape outs him as a werewolf tomorrow," Harry said. "Remus resigns and leaves Hogwarts tomorrow."

"The Defense position is cursed," Hermione said, "Even if we could stop Snape from outing Remus, something else would happen. Something worse, maybe."

"True," Harry said, "Still, it is rather unfair. We need to do something about Snape. I can't put up with him for another four years."

"I actually agree with you," Hermione said. "Besides, Horace Slughorn was a far better Professor. We could include Snape in our plot to destroy Dumbledore. Two birds with one stone."

"I did tell you that you look sexy when plotting, right?" Harry asked.

"You mentioned it," Hermione said, grinning.

Tom returned and Harry waved his wand under the table, lifting the Muffliato enchantment. Once Tom served their meals, and Harry paid for it, Tom left again. Then Harry reapplied the enchantments.

Harry started in on his BLT and grinned at the taste. "Feels like forever since I've had good food like this. How long has it been since we had that food Aberforth gave us?"

"Technically, nearly four years," Hermione said, with a smirk.

"No wonder I'm hungry," Harry said, laughing.

Hermione giggled and bit into her sandwich. She swallowed and looked at it.

"Harry?" she said, "We need to discuss what is happening tonight before we go in head first. We have to be really careful tonight. Aside from the fact that we can't be seen, a lot rests on what happens tonight. I mean, we could do exactly what we did last time, but -"

"But I don't recall exactly what we did last time," Harry said, "Do you?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Hey," Harry said, "Do you reckon Diagon Alley or Knockturn Alley has a Pensieve for sell somewhere?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Why didn't I think of that? We could view the memories of both the original events and the events when we went back in time. If we can find one, and we return to Hogwarts, we can study our memories for a couple hours."

"Then that is what we'll do," Harry said.

Hermione agreed, and the pair continued to eat while discussing what they could remember about the events which would take place that evening.. When they finished their meal, they returned to Diagon Alley. Their first stop was Flourish and Blott's, where Hermione picked up a couple books about Occlumency and Legilimency, as well as book on official Lord and Lady duties, for Harry. Then they found a Pensieve in an odds-and-ends type store in Knockturn Alley. The price was rather steep, but the store owner promised a full refund with interest if the Pensieve failed to work.

When they finished their shopping, they found an Apparation-safe area, and returned to Hogsmeade via Side-Along Apparation.

* * *

**Ugh, not sure if I like that ending. Aw well.**

**Next chapter: After studying their memories in the Pensieve (which won't be shown in the chapter), it is time for Harry and Hermione to save Buckbeak and Sirius!**


	4. A Sirius Rescue

**Chapter 4  
A Sirius Rescue**

**Author's Note: 110+ reviews in 3 chapters. Amazing! Thank you everyone.**

**So I realized in the book, the events happened around nine-o-clock, at night, but in the movie it started at seven-thirty. So I'm basing the time off the movie events. The events will have influences from both book and movie though.**

**Also what happens after the Patronus scene is not Canon. I know this. It is simply my own addition.**

**Disclaimer: Recognizable sections of this chapter come directly from Chapter 21 and 22 of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling. I do not take claim for these, only my own additions.**

* * *

At five till half-past seven, Harry and Hermione stood Disillusioned in the broom closet waiting for their past selves to leave through the Entrance Hall. They had spent much of the last few hours studying their memories of the events of that evening and of the initial travel through time. Both were sure they were confident they could succeed with tonight's mission.

Realizing that she and Harry hadn't slept in several hours, Hermione had suggested the both of them take a short nap. So for an hour-and-a-half before it was time for the evening's events, they napped together in a bed requested in the Room of Requirement. They awoke due to an Alarm Charm Hermione had set. After the nap, on their way downstairs, Hermione summoned two Invigoration Draughts from the Hospital Wing, that would help them stay awake for a few hours. It was dinner time, so there was likely no chance of seeing the floating vials.

'Hermione?" Harry asked, "Are you sure there isn't anything we can change this evening?"

"Pettigrew must escape," Hermione said, "I feel bad for Remus, but it is because he turns into a rabid wolf that Pettigrew escapes. Believe me, I wanted to place Wolfsbane on Remus' desk, and it was all could think about all afternoon. But we can't because it changes too much."

"What about Snape?" Harry asked. "We could prevent him from going into the Shrieking Shack."

"Not possible," Hermione said, "He had the same discussion with Fudge as he did last time. We confirmed that in the Pensieve. Believe me I'd like nothing more than to Stun him and place him in here, but we can't."

"Unless we place an Imperius Curse on him to have that conversation as if the events went that way'" Harry said.

"While I compliment you on the brilliance of the idea," Hermione said, "I also say we can't do it. Snape may be able to fight it off like you can. Besides, Sirius was captured. If Snape didn't do it, who did? Also, he brought us to the Hospital Wing. If we changed something tonight, that would not have happened."

"True," Harry said, sighing.

"Sirius won't be on the run for long," Hermione said, "We'll speak to Amelia soon enough. She'll be meeting you to talk about Susan's contract sometime soon."

"Couldn't we send her an anonymous letter to be here this evening before Fudge can send the Dementors to Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Again, another brilliant plan, but it might not work," Hermione said, "The letter might not get to her in time, or she might not get here in time."

"Also true," Harry said.

"We just need to repeat history just this once," Hermione said, "Then we can begin to change the future tomorrow."

"Alright," Harry said.

Hermione raised a hand to silence Harry. "I think I hear us! We're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak -"

She broke off, still listening intently.

"We've gone down the front steps," Hermione said, "Come on. If we make a beeline we can beat them to Hagrid's, and hide in the tree line near Buckbeak. Will be easy since we're Disillusioned. We must be careful since we – they – our younger selves are under the Cloak and we can't see them."

She opened the door and made sure there was nobody in the Hall. She was about to step out when Harry heard footsteps, and pulled her back. A voice spoke up.

"Headmaster, I need to speak with you," Severus Snape said.

"If you make it quick, Severus," Albus Dumbledore said, "I must go collect Minister Fudge and the executioner. Did you give Remus his medicine tonight?"

"I put it on his desk in his office but he was not there," Snape said, "If he didn't take it, that is not my problem. Albus, I plan to reveal his secret tomorrow at breakfast. I held off long enough so he could teach, just as you said, but his lessons are over."

"Do what you must," Dumbledore said, "just make it look like an accident that you did not mean to say. I must meet Cornelius. Will you travel the Grounds and make sure no students are roaming?"

"I will do so shortly," Snape said.

Two sets of feet walked off in different directions.

"Is Snape going outside? " Harry whispered.

"No he's going to the dungeons," Hermione said, "Hall's empty. We need to go."

Harry nodded and crept out of the closet with Hermione. They made their way out the front Entrance and took off running across the grounds, straight toward the tree line of the Forbidden Forest. When they reached it, they jogged along the tree line until they neared Hagrid's hut. Buckbeak was laying in the garden, a rope around his neck and tied to a post. They ran over to a crop of large pumpkins and hid behind them. Harry concentrated, trying to see if he could hear his younger self or Hermione or Ron. He could only hear one thing – Hagrid's loud sobs that echoed through the window.

"Poor Hagrid," Hermione said, frowning

"Guess we haven't arrived yet," Harry said.

"Guess again," Hermione said, "Look."

Harry looked toward the hut's front door and saw an arm appear out of thin air and knock on the door. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked. And Harry heard his own voice.

"It's us," younger-Harry said, "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly.

"Gosh it is weird to think about isn't?" Hermione asked, "Those versions of us don't know anything about what we went through in the future."

"Yeah," Harry said, "So young and innocent, weren't we?"

"Maybe not so innocent," Hermione said, with a smirk.

Harry laughed, then sobered up. "So it seems Dumbledore knew of Snape's plans to out Remus."

"Dumbledore knows the post is cursed," Hermione said, "He knows the announcement will make Remus resign. And Remus also knows, or will know that Sirius is innocent. If he is outed as a werewolf then -"

"- then nobody would believe him if he told them about Sirius," Harry said, "Due to the prejudice against werewolves."

"Yeah'" Hermione said. "I don't think Dumbledore wants to see Sirius free. Freedom means he becomes your guardian. He'd lose Magical Guardianship over you, and you could leave the Dursleys. Or that would be so if you weren't Emancipated. In the old timeline, when we freed Sirius tonight, he was still a fugitive."

Harry scoffed. "Dumbledore must have known that, which is why he told us to do this."

"That and it presented me with a second shot of getting killed by Remus or the Dementors tonight," Hermione said.

"Not going to happen," Harry said.

At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Hermione whispered. "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment —"

Sure enough, a few moments later, they heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.

"Strange," Harry said, "I have no desire to go in and nab the rat. He needs to escape. He will believe he is doing it for his Master, when really, it will culminate in Voldemort's defeat in the cemetery."

"If everything goes right," Hermione said. "Murphy's Law seems to love you."

"Didn't need to hear that tonight, Hermione," Harry said.

Hermione winced. "Sorry."

She nudged him and pointed toward the castle. Harry moved his head a few inches to get a clear view of the distant front doors. Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.

"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed.

And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Harry saw himself, Ron, and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. Hermione nudged Harry again, then dragged him behind the trees in the shadows. Harry realized why she had done this. Even though they were Disillusioned, their younger selves could have walked right into them.

"It's okay, Beaky, it's okay," Hagrid said to Buckbeak. Then he turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Go on. Get goin'."

"Hagrid," younger-Harry said, "We can't —"

"We'll tell them what really happened," younger-Hermione said.

"They can't kill him," younger-Harry said.

"Go!" Hagrid said, "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

Harry watched the Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the Invisibility Cloak over him and Ron.

"Go quick'" Hagrid said, "Don' listen."

There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard three pairs of feet retreating. The younger trio had left. Hermione nudged Harry forward and they moved back toward the pumpkin patch. They could now hear what was going on inside the cabin.

"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out — outside," Hagrid croaked.

Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Macnair's gaze passed by Harry, and it was a tense moment. But Macnair could not see the Disillusioned pair. Then they heard Fudge.

"We — er — have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid," he said, "I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you're supposed to listen too, that's procedure —"

Macnair's face vanished from the window. Harry made to move, but Hermione was faster. She used a Cutting Curse on the rope, then used another spell."

"Confundus Charm to make them think he escaped on his own," Hermione explained, "Come, Beaky. I know you can't see us, but you can smell us. We're friends."

Buckbeak looked around, then sniffed the air. He then stood and walked over to Harry and Hermione. Hermione cast a Disillusionment Charm on him, and Harry took the rope and led Buckbeak into the trees and shadows.

"That was so much easier than last time," Harry said. "Where should we go?"

"The lake," Hermione said, "We know the exact position we and Sirius get attacked by Dementors. We can wait it out in the general area."

Harry agreed. As they trekked through the forest with Buckbeak, they heard Hagrid's celebratory whoops of joy from Buckbeak's escape. Harry and Hermione exchanged grins at that. Ten minutes through their trek, they reached the shore of the lake. Hermione tied Buckbeak's rope to a tree, and joined Harry as they sat down at the edge of the tree line, in perfect sight of the action that would take place soon enough.

"The Pensieve was an excellent idea," Hermione said, "We didn't need to go through all that drama when we know the end-game."

"Yeah," Harry said.

A brisk, cool gust of wind made Harry shiver. Hermione noticed and moved into his lap to cuddle against him.

"Is that just to keep me warm?" Harry asked, "Or did you want cuddle time?"

"Mmm, both," Hermione said.

Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, and she relaxed against him.

"I forgot how unruly your hair was at this age," Harry said.

Hermione laughed. "Yeah, I'm going to get it cut to a manageable size this summer. Maybe turn it into ponytail. Ugh, and I have buck teeth again. I need to fix that tomorrow. You must felt like you kissed a beaver!"

"Hmm... I'm not sure," Harry said, "You might have to kiss me so I can be sure."

Hermione giggled. She turned her body so that she was facing him. He smiled and kissed her softly. She melted against his lips as the kiss turned passionate. He licked her lips and she parted them, allowing entrance. Harry dipped his tongue into her mouth and slid it along her own as their tongues danced. He teased his tongue along her protruding teeth, and she giggled at the feeling.

She backed away. "That felt odd. I think it is best if I shrink them tomorrow."

She then turned her body again and relaxed in his lap. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, as they thought about the events happening now elsewhere. By now, the younger trio were talking to Sirius and Lupin, and were learning the truth about Pettigrew and the Marauders.

"Harry," Hermione said, after about five minutes of silence, "I wonder if we're wrong about not revealing your Emancipation."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Sometime in the next few days, Ragnok and his associates are coming to Hogwarts to harvest the Basilisk," Hermione said, "Dumbledore's going to realize you somehow contacted him, and he may blame me on encouraging you. Besides, when he realizes you're Emancipated, he can't force you to live with the Dursleys."

"He'll still try to force me to go back," Harry said. "Because of the blood wards. I know how to get around that."

"Well, I imagine Amelia Bones, Mr. Lovegood, and Daphne's family received the active Betrothal notices," Hermione said, "You could write to them tomorrow. Ask Amelia if she can meet you here before the end of term. You can discuss the Betrothal and we can tell her about Sirius. We'll take the Pensieve along and show her the memories."

"How will that help us against Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"We'll need to mention the Will to reveal the Godfather Ritual," Hermione said. "In the same conversation, we can reveal that Dumbledore was never your suggested Magical Guardian and that you are an Emancipated Lord now. Amelia might volunteer to tell Dumbledore to leave you alone."

"Hmm... it might work," Harry said. "Alright, I'll write the letters tomorrow. Hey... Hedwig's alive! I'll be so happy to see her again."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "What are you going to do about Ron? Our friendship with him will more than likely end tomorrow, but you'll still be dorm-mates."

"Hmm, how long was he in the Hospital Wing for the broken leg?" Harry asked.

"A couple days," Hermione said.

"You could Confound Madam Pomfrey into keeping him in the Wing until the end of term," Harry suggested.

"That isn't a bad idea," Hermione said. "You know... I think there are Lord and Lady's quarters near the Guest rooms in the castle. Once your Lordship is revealed, you could move out of Gryffindor Tower."

"Well, then," Harry said, "As my Vassal, I'll demand you join me."

"Sounds like a fine idea," Hermione said, "What about your Betrothed?"

"Hmm... I'll think about inviting them as well," Harry said. "Ironic, you know. I have girls from all four houses."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "Might be a fine way to show House Unity. By the way, Daphne's nicer than your average Slytherin. She's friendly to me in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy."

"I'll keep an open mind," Harry said, "Speaking of those classes, "I think I'm going to talk to McGonagall and drop Divination. I'll take Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"Brilliant," Hermione said, "I'll help you this summer so you can test out of third year of those classes."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"I'll meet with her at the same time to give up Muggle Studies," Hermione said, "and hand in the Time Turner."

"Do we have to?" Harry asked. "It could come in handy in many scenarios. You could make a fake, convincing copy to give to her."

Hermione remained silent for a minute as she pondered this. 'You're right. It could be useful. It could be risky, but we're already technically messing with time by by changing the future as we know it. I'll do it."

"Brilliant," Harry said.

They returned to a companionable silence and waited. And waited.

And waited some more.

Then they heard a sharp, loud werewolf howl across the wind. Then it began to get much, much colder than it already was.

"It is nearly showtime," Hermione said, as she and Harry stood up.

Sure enough they saw a figure on the other side of the cove. It was Sirius! Harry and Hermione watched as their younger selves neared Sirius as well. Then the lake began to freeze up as Dementors swooped in on the three figures. Harry watched with wide eyes as his younger self tried to do feeble Patronuses.

He knew he needed to wait until the perfect moment, but it was difficult. It was especially difficult to watch Sirius and Hermione collapse. As his younger self too collapsed, Harry ran forward toward the lake, his wand ready for action.

'EXPECTO PATRONUM!" he yelled.

He watched as the silver stag, Prongs, emerged from his wand and galloped toward the Dementors. It lowered its head and charged at the swarming Dementors. Now it was galloping around and around the black shapes on the ground, and the Dementors were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness. They were gone.

The Patronus turned. It was cantering back toward Harry across the still surface of the water. It then stopped in front of Harry and he bowed his head.

"Thank you, old friend," Harry said.

The stag bowed then vanished.

Harry turned and walked back over to Hermione. Her eyes widened and she pointed across the lake, Harry turned and saw the familiar Silver Doe cantering near Sirius and their younger selves. And in the light of the Patronus, Harry saw another familiar figure.

"Holy shit!" Harry breathed.

It was Severus Snape. Snape was the owner of the Silver Doe Patronus.

"It was him," Harry said, "He lead me to the Sword of Gryffindor in the Forest of Dean. Snape helped us!"

"It certainly seems so," Hermione said.

"I should have remained here last time," Harry said, "I would have known who owned the doe Patronus."

Snape conjured three stretchers and lifted the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, and Black onto them. A fourth stretcher, no doubt bearing Ron, was already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.

"Right, it's nearly time," said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing."

"I reckon we should take Buckbeak and fly around the Grounds," Harry said, "We're Disillusioned, nobody will see us."

Hermione nodded. "Alright."

Twenty minutes later, they were circling the Grounds, careful to avoid the Dementors. Harry was quite surprised Hermione wasn't panicking. But he realized... after riding a dragon, a hippogriff wasn't scary at all. Suddenly, Hermione pointed at the ground.

"Macnair is going to the Dementors," she said, "Time to go!"

Harry tugged gently on the harness they had transfigured from the rope, and commanded Buckbeak where to go. He gently guided the large creature toward the correct destination, and soon they arrived at the correct window.

Hermione lifted the Disillusionment Charms. Harry reached out, and tapped sharply on the glass. Sirius looked up. Harry saw his jaw drop. He leapt from his chair, hurried to the window and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called to him, and she took out her wand, "_Alohomora_!"

The window sprang open.

"How — how — ?" said Black weakly, staring at the hippogriff.

"Get on — there's not much time," said Harry, gripping Buckbeak firmly on either side of his sleek neck to hold him steady. "You've got to get out of here — the dementors are coming — Macnair's gone to get them."

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower — come on!"

The hippogriff gave one sweep of its mighty wings and they were soaring upward again, high as the top of the West Tower. Buckbeak landed with a clatter on the battlements, and Harry and Hermione slid off him at once.

"Sirius, listen to me," Harry said, "We did this using a Time Turner. We went back twelve hours and went to Gringotts. We read my parents' Will. We know about the Godfather Ritual. We're going to speak to Amelia Bones in the next few days. We'll tell her you're innocent and you should get a trial. Stay in Great Britain somewhere. I'll write to you soon enough after we sort it all out."

Sirius' eyes were wide as he listened to Harry's explanation. He nodded. "Okay. I know where to go."

"Then go before someone sees you," Hermione said.

Sirius wheeled Buckbeak around, facing the open sky.

"We'll see each other again," he said. "You are — truly your father's son, Harry..."

He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. Harry and Hermione jumped back as the enormous wings rose once more. The hippogriff took off into the air. . . . He and his rider became smaller and smaller as Harry gazed after them... then a cloud drifted across the moon.

They were gone.

"Got to go, Harry!" Hermione said.

They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiraling stone staircase. Then they raced toward the Staircase and toward the appropriate floor. Harry recalled from the memory that, before, they had run into Snape, Fudge and Peeves by now. None of that happened this time. He didn't know if that was a good thing or bad thing.

Soon they reached the end of the corridor with the hospital wing entrance.

"Okay — I can hear Dumbledore," said Hermione, "Come on, Harry!"

They crept along the corridor. The door opened. Dumbledore's back appeared.

"I am going to lock you in," they heard him saying. "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Dumbledore backed out of the room, closed the door, and took out his wand to magically lock it. Harry and Hermione ran forward. Dumbledore looked up, and for a second, Harry thought he saw the old man frown in Hermione's direction, before a wide smile appeared under the long silver mustache.

"Well?" he asked, quietly.

"We did it!" said Harry breathlessly. "Sirius has gone, on Buckbeak..."

Dumbledore beamed at them.

"Well done. I think —" He listened intently for any sound within the hospital wing. "Yes, I think you've gone too — get inside — I'll lock you in —"

"Professor?" Hermione asked, "I have a feeling Professor Snape will try to blame us for Sirius' escape. Could you ward him off. We just want to sleep."

Dumbledore stared at her for a moment. "I will do that. Go on."

Harry and Hermione slipped back inside the dormitory. It was empty except for Ron, who was still lying motionless in the end bed. As the lock clicked behind them, Harry and Hermione crept back to their own beds, Hermione tucking the Time-Turner back under her robes. A moment later, Madam Pomfrey came striding back out of her office.

"Did I hear the headmaster leaving?" she asked, "Am I allowed to look after my patients now?"

She was in a very bad mood. Harry and Hermione thought it best to accept their chocolate quietly. Madam Pomfrey stood over them, making sure they ate it. Harry and Hermione ate as they nervously looked at each other, and the doors at different intervals. And as they ate their fourth piece of chocolate, they could hear nothing but their chewing and Madam Pomfrey murmuring quiet rants.

"Alright," she said, "I think that is plenty of chocolate to get you through the night. Bedtime. I need to do some brewing. I realized recently I ran out of Invigoration Draught."

Hermione's eyes widened and Harry did his best not to laugh. They laid down on their beds and the nurse walked away. When she vanished behind her office door, Harry laughed out loud.

"You're laughing because I stole her last two Invigoration Draughts, aren't you?" Hermione said. "I hate you sometimes. But I also love you."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry said.

Ron snored loudly, and Harry and Hermione glanced at each other. They rolled their eyes, relaxed in their beds and finally fell asleep, happy at the Snape-less silence.

* * *

**Short chapter but to the point.**

**Next Chapter: Harry and Hermione clash with Ron, speak to Remus, and write some letters. And more!**

**Note: My keyboard died and I won't be able to afford a new one (even cheap) for a week or so. I am using this rather small keyboard meant for a small portable notebook, and it makes my typing slow... I'll still write chapters but the updates may be slow. Just so you know.**


	5. Goodbyes and Greetings

**Chapter 5  
****Goodbyes and Greetings**

**Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Harry Potter fan-fiction writer "broomstick flyer", who passed away on March 22****nd****, 2015. A fantastic writer, and I loved many of her stories.**

**Q&amp;A Time:**

**Q: Is this story gonna have lemons in it? And will this story end at the conclusion of year 4?**

**A: It will most likely have lemons before the end. I don't know if it will end at the conclusion of fourth year yet. I have plans and scenarios that could go either way. I'll just say there is likely a good chance the story will go beyond fourth year.  
****  
Disclaimer: Recognizable sections of this chapter come directly from Chapter 22 of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling. I do not take claim for these, only my own additions.**

**Warning: Ron Bashing, some language and toilet humor!**

* * *

When Harry woke up the next morning, he put on his glasses and found Hermione's bed empty and Ron still fast asleep in his bed. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, the door of the Hospital's bathroom opened and Hermione walked out in naught but a towel. She blushed cutely when she saw Harry awake.

"Madam Pomfrey is down at breakfast," she said, "She'll bring us back something to eat when she returns. A house elf set clothes out for you. How I never knew they were here until fourth year last time is beyond me."

Harry laughed and noticed the stack of folded clothes on the bedside table. He stood, collected his clothes then walked over to Hermione. He leaned toward her and kissed her softly. She chuckled against his lips and returned the kiss. When she backed away, she looked at Ron.

"Still asleep," she said.

"When I get out of the shower, he should be awake," Harry said, "We can put on a show in front of him and watch our so-called friendship self-destruct."

"Sounds good to me," Hermione said, then grinned so her teeth were showing; her front teeth were normal again, "Notice anything different?"

"Nope," Harry said, "You're as beautiful as you always were."

"Good answer, Lord Potter," Hermione said, grinning..

Harry smiled and pecked her on the lips again, then made his way into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, he walked out clean and dressed in new clothes. Madam Pomfrey was standing near a wide-awake Ron, waving her wand over him.

"Ah, Potter," she said when she saw him, as he walked over to his bed, "You're looking healthy. Breakfast is on your bed. Eat it all then you and Miss Granger may leave. It is a Hogsmeade weekend if you would like to go. The staff is allowing students to go today and tomorrow, even though today is a Friday."

"What about me?" Ron asked.

"I'm afraid you'll be in here until the night of the Leaving Feast," Madam Pomfrey said.

As Ron groaned loudly, Harry looked at Hermione, who winked at him. Harry grinned. It seems his suggestion to Confound the nurse into making Ron stay in the Hospital Wing worked quite well.

"Don't you dare try to get out of that bed, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey said as she walked away from his bedside. "You might injure yourself again. Oh, and I guess I should mention. Professor Lupin resigned from his post today. I expect he is leaving in the next couple of hours if you wish to say goodbye."

"We sure will," Hermione said.

Madam Pomfrey smiled and returned to her office. Hermione walked over to Harry's bed and sat next to him.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Didn't you hear Pomfrey?" Ron asked, "He's fine. I am the one she's kidnapping for the last week of term. Come and comfort me."

"I'm fine here," Hermione said.

She winked at Harry. Then she leaned toward him and kissed him.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Ron asked.

Hermione grinned against Harry's lips then backed away and turned to Ron.

"Kissing my boyfriend," Hermione said, "Suppose I failed to mention that. We became a couple last night."

"You had to do it again, didn't you, Potter?" Ron asked. "Took something I wanted just cause you're the bloody Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry glanced at Hermione and she nodded. She stood up, flourished her wand toward the door of Pomfrey's office and vocally applied a Muffliato Charm to it. Harry stood and the two of them walked over to Ron's bed. Ron had the decency to look slightly frightened as they towered over him.

"You're pathetic, Ron," Harry said.

"That's rich of you," Ron muttered.

"You have the greatest thing in the world," Harry said, "Something I wanted all my life."

"Oh yeah?" Ron asked, "What's that?"

"A Mother, a father, siblings," Harry said, "A loving family. Someone to tuck me in at bed at night, someone who will read me bedtime stories. A family who I could spend Christmas with. You know why I don't have that? Cause I'm the bloody _fucking _Boy-Who-Lived."

Ron winced at the unexpected swearing and tone in Harry's voice.

"You fucking celebrate Halloween and wonder why I don't like the holiday," Harry said. "Aside from the fact that something bad always happens to me on Halloween, I also lost my parents on Halloween. Every year Halloween comes is another year without my parents. You know what wizards and witches did the day my parents died? Celebrated. Voldemort defeated by a baby who is now our hero. _Woo fucking hoo. _Who mourned my parents, Ron? Who remembered them every Halloween aside from a few close friends?"

"You're off your rocker," Ron said. 'I celebrate the holiday cause of the fun, good food and candy. I was one-and-a-half when your parents were killed, you expect me to mourn them for something that happened over a decade ago?"

"He hoped you would respect his feelings," Hermione said.

"I'm not finished," Harry said. "You call me a mate, then insult me every time you whinge about me having something you don't. Money, good looks, good eating habits, brains, Quidditch skills. Yes that is all something I have that you do not." Hermione laughed at the obvious insult. Ron's face turned a purple tinge. "I'd give it all up in a flash to have my parents. I didn't add Hermione as my girlfriend to that list, because I would _never_ give her up as long as she wants me."

"I'll want him as long as I live, Ron," Hermione said. "Even longer. You simply want me so you have something Harry doesn't. You just seem to constantly forget you do have something he longs for. Why else would you want me? You don't fancy me. Our visits to Hogsmeade were never dates. I wanted to go with Harry. Besides, you ignored me half the time. I bet you went with me, so you could boast around that you and I went on a date. I certainly heard the rumors. But how could I ever want you? You start fights with me thinking you can scare me away to the point where I don't want to be friends with Harry anymore."

Ron's eyes widened.

"Thought I didn't know that?" Hermione asked. "Here are a few other things I know about. When you first met Harry, you claimed everywhere else on the train was full. That was a lie. You just needed an excuse to sit with Harry."

"I think your brothers would have let you sit with them if you couldn't have found somewhere to go," Harry said.

"Ah, but that would have screwed up his schemes," Hermione said, still looking at Ron, "How many Galleons have you made spying on Harry over the past three years?"

"I – er – I -" Ron stammered, then cleared his throat, "She's mental, Harry! She's trying to split us up. We're best mates, aren't we?"

"I used to think so – now I'm not so sure anymore," Harry said. "Though I must ask why you're telling him we know his secrets, Hermione."

"Oh, he won't be able to tell anyone," Hermione said, "He'll know we know, he just won't be able to talk about it. Wouldn't want Dumbledore discovering we caught his spy."

Ron stammered again.

"Would you have passed first year if Dumbledore hadn't fixed your grades for you, Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, now that is a little harsh, Hermione," Harry said, "Even Crabbe and Goyle were able to pass first year and even Malfoy admits they can't read. Come to think it, Lucius Malfoy must bribe someone to pass the trolls so they can remain his brat's bodyguards."

"Alright, maybe not first year, but surely second and this year?" Hermione asked, "You don't study, you don't read – not even sure you _can_ read. Your homework would get Troll grades every time if I hadn't helped you. If I were to charm you to keep from blabbing secrets to Dumbledore, would you be destined to drop out by the end of next term?"

Ron's scared look was the only answer they needed.

"Maybe I'll save Dumbledore the trouble and make it so you don't return next year," Hermione suggested, "How about I turn you in to the DMLE for being an accomplice to attempted murder, given that I would never have gotten attacked by the troll if Dumbledore hadn't Imperiused me. It was you who insulted me which started the events."

"I saved you!" Ron said, "It was my Charm that did it. And what do I get in thanks? Accusations! She's mental, Harry! I said it the night we met her and I say it now."

"How about molesting me when I was Petrified?" Hermione asked.

"_What_?" Harry growled, gripping his wand tightly.

"How the bloody hell –?" Ron said; then his eyes widened as he realized he had basically admitted to doing it.

"Didn't think I knew that, eh Ron?" Hermione said, then looked at Harry, ''He stuck his hand up my shirt whenever he visited me whilst I was in here. And maybe down my pants as well."

Harry snarled in Ron's direction. A curse was on his lips. It would only be too easy. Panicked, Ron reached for his wand, but Hermione summoned it with her own. She clutched it in both fists.

"I could snap it you know," Hermione said, "I could probably permanently bind your magic too if I tried hard enough. They might give me an Order of Merlin for ridding rubbish like you from wizarding society. Or maybe I'll just claim it for myself."

"You wouldn't dare," Ron said, "They would throw you in Azkaban for stealing a wand from a pureblood."

"That belief makes you no better than a Death Eater," Harry said. "I suppose you think she has magic because she stole it from a pureblood too?"

"Can you prove she didn't?" Ron asked, "She wants to steal my wand!"

"I summoned it so you wouldn't curse me, you moron!" Hermione exclaimed.

She threw Ron's wand onto a bed on the other side of the room.

"Does it look like I am trying to steal it?" she asked.

"You threatened to take it from me," Ron said, "That is wand theft."

"Wand theft?," Hermione asked, "So if you claimed my wand, would you regard it as theft?"

"I'm a pureblood," Ron said, "I'd like to see you formally accuse me of doing it. Hell, doing any of the rubbish you are spewing. No one is going to believe a -"

"A what?" Hermione interrupted, "A Mudblood? Say it, Weasley! I know that is all you think of me. A Mudblood bitch that would bow to you, the _superior pureblood_."

Ron spluttered as his face turned a mixture of purple and green.

"I can't deal with your bigoted, jealous stupidity anymore," Hermione said.

She pointed her wand at Ron. Once again, he had the decency to look afraid.

"_Imperio_," she said, then as Ron's eyes went cloudy, she continued. "Ronald Weasley, you will not speak of this conversation to anyone. If you attempt to do so – _or _if you attempt to spy on Hermione Granger or Harry Potter and blab to anyone about what you heard about us – your tongue will temporarily roll up and you will have bad flatulence until you cease in attempting to blab. You will not speak to Hermione Granger or Harry Potter unless they speak to you first, and you will do your best to ignore them. This will go on as long as Hermione Granger or Harry Potter says so."

Hermione waved her wand again, then after a moment, lowered it and Ron's eyes returned to normal.

"Consider our friendship – if we ever had one – terminated," Hermione said.

"Same goes for me," Harry said.

"Good luck with surviving next term since you can't reveal our secrets to Dumbledore," Hermione said, "I'd just drop out right now if I were you. Come on, Harry, we have better things to do then hang about with this bastard."

The pair turned and left the Hospital Wing.

"I like how you worded that," Harry said, as they headed down the corridor. "Even if someone figured it out, nobody aside from us could cancel it out. I ask you though... flatulence?"

"Embarrassing for Ron," Hermione said, "and more than likely when it happens around us, we'll know. Everyone else will avoid him too. And if anyone tries to blame us? No one would believe we're capable of using such Dark magic."

"Note to self," Harry said, "Learn Air Freshening Charm."

"I'll teach it to you," Hermione said. "It was quite useful in the tent during the Horcrux hunt."

"I think I have been insulted," Harry said.

"I used it around him, not you," Hermione said, "At least you took daily showers. He wore the same underwear for days on end."

"Well, hopefully he changes them whenever your Curse strikes him," Harry said, "By the way, I owe him a beat down for touching you inappropriately."

"After me," Hermione said. "I want to do to him what I did to the older version. Two kicks to the bollocks."

Harry winced. "Remind me never to upset you."

Hermione looked scandalized. "I would never do that to you. I need them healthy in the future!"

Harry stammered and blushed furiously. Hermione giggled and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that spell you did after the Imperius?" Harry asked.

"A specialty I found in the Black Library at Grimmauld Place," Hermione said, "He'll remember the conversation but it can't be viewed through a Pensieve or Legilimency. It could cause dangerous side-effects similar to Obliviation, so I dare not use it on us. We'll simply stick to Occlumency."

"Either way it was brilliant," Harry said.

"Thanks," Hermione said. "Now that we're thoroughly shot of Ron, we can concentrate on other important things. Come on. Let's go talk to Remus, then we can write the letters we planned on last night."

Harry agreed. Five minutes later, they were at the door of Remus' office. Harry knocked on it. They heard Remus' muffled voice, and Harry opened the door and led Hermione into the office. Remus' back was turned as he was packing up suitcases.

"Good morning, Harry, Hermione," Remus said, as he turned toward them; he motioned to the parchment known as the Marauder's Map, "I saw you coming. Speaking of... I think I'll give it back to you. As I am not your Professor anymore, I feel no guilt in giving it back. Also... this. I brought it back for you"

He revealed the Invisibility Cloak. Harry crossed the room and took the Map and Cloak.

"Thanks," Harry said, "We heard you were leaving. Madam Pomfrey told us. That you resigned."

"I think the loss of the Order of Merlin hit Professor Snape hard," Remus said, "So he — er — _accidentally _let slip that I am a werewolf this morning at breakfast. This time tomorrow, the owls will start arriving from parents. they will not want a werewolf teaching their children Harry. And after last night, I see their point. I could have bitten any of you. That must never happen again."

"We need to speak to you," Harry said, "But privacy and secrecy is required. Would you do the honors, Hermione?"

"Muffliato!" Hermione said, pointing her wand toward the office door.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Where did you learn that Charm?"

"A book," Hermione said, "Why?"

"It was Lily's creation," Remus said, sighing wistfully.

"Mum's?" Harry asked, "Would you believe us if we told you we got it out of a book once owned by Snape?"

"Severus and Lily were friends until a big fight our fifth year," Remus said, "I am sure they shared several things like that."

"Were they close?" Harry asked, remembering watching the Pensieve scene of the fight.

"Lily reckoned that Snape loved her," Remus said.

"That explains his Patronus," Hermione said.

"And his hatred for me," Harry said, "I am the proof of her love for my father."

Remus laughed. "The evening after you were born, me, him and Sirius had a few celebratory drinks. James said you were the proof he shagged Lily Evans."

Harry laughed then cleared his throat.

"Remus," he said, "We – Hermione and I – believe you were outed for another reason aside from what happened last night. We think Dumbledore is responsible for it. We believe he doesn't want Sirius to be free. If you were to tell anyone about Sirius' innocence, they may not believe you because of what you are."

"Why would you say that?" Remus asked.

"We need to tell you something," Harry said, "We – Hermione and I – we freed Sirius. Dumbledore wanted us to use Hermione's Time Turner to save Buckbeak and Sirius. He wanted us to go back five hours or so. We went back twelve."

Then he and Hermione told Remus about their visit to Gringotts. About his parents' Will.

"The Dursleys were never supposed to raise me," Harry said, "Dumbledore was a witness to the Will. He knew about it, and yet he sent me there Also, Remus... Sirius and my parents did a Godfather Ritual."

Remus' eyes widened. "I knew nothing about the Will or the Ritual."

"Maybe you did," Hermione said, "and someone Obliviated you so you wouldn't know about Sirius' innocence."

"But who would –?" Remus asked, then paled worse than he already looked, "... Dumbledore?"

"We think so," Harry said. "Remus, we told Sirius to stay in Great Britain. We're going to speak to Amelia Bones soon enough and ask her to meet with us. We'll tell her about what happened last night, as well as the Godfather Ritual."

"I think Amelia may believe you," Remus said, "She'll be thrilled. She and Sirius were Betrothed and were planning to marry after the Great War ended. But he went to Azkaban..."

Harry's eyes widened. "I'm betrothed to her niece, Susan. And two other girls. Daphne Greengrass and Luna Lovegood."

Remus laughed. "I recall James hinting about doing that. He wanted to ensure the continuance of his father's Alliance. How do you feel about that?"

"Unsure," Harry said, "I'm actually taken at the moment."

"You two?" Remus asked. "I didn't know."

"It happened last night," Hermione said, "After the events."

"How does Ron feel about that?" Remus asked.

"Er... yesterday during our time traveling, we discovered some revelations," Harry said. "Let's just say he and Pettigrew have a lot in common, except he sold himself to Dumbledore instead of Voldemort. We confronted him about it today, and he more or less admitted he was spying on us in turn for money and good grades. Our friendship, if there ever was one, is over."

"Oh, I see," Remus said, "Well, it seems you had an eventful couple of days."

"You could say that," Hermione said.

"Remus, when you leave," Harry said, "Please find Sirius. Make sure he's safe."

"I intended to do that very thing," Remus said.

"Good," Harry said, "He needs to be in touch in case Amelia gets him a trial."

"I will make sure he is healthy and presentable," Remus said. "For now, we say goodbye. I know we will see each other again soon."

"Count on it," Harry said; then offered his hand.

Remus shook it. "Your father would be very proud of you. And your mother would love your choice in women. A genius, feisty, adventurous Muggleborn just like her."

Harry smiled and turned to Hermione, who was blushing and smiling. They said their farewells and left the office, then headed toward the Grand Staircase, hand-in hand.

"Do you reckon we should have told him our – er – big secret?" Harry asked.

"Wasn't the right time," Hermione said, "I agree we should tell him – and Sirius. But we need to do it at a time where we can sit down and take our time."

"Alright," Harry agreed.

When they reached the Grand Staircase, they heard a voice calling their names. Susan Bones was coming up the stairs.

"I was about to search for you at the Gryffindor Tower," she said. "Glad I caught you. Have you received post today? Maybe from my Auntie, Amelia Bones?"

"We spent the night in the Hospital Wing – long story," Harry added, when he saw the curious and worried expression on Susan's face, "Madam Pomfrey didn't give us post."

"Then I expect it is in your dormitory," Susan said, "She wrote me today, and said she wrote to you as well. She – ah – wants to meet you tomorrow at noon in the Three Broomsticks. She wants to talk about – ah – well, maybe you don't know yet since you haven't got your post."

"The Betrothal Contracts?" Harry said, "Found out about those yesterday. Also a long story."

"I-I see," Susan stammered, "So you know about it then. I wasn't sure. I saw you two holding hands, and... well -"

"We're a new couple," Hermione said, "And I have no real issues at the moment about the Contracts."

"Wait... Contracts?" Susan asked, "As in plural? More than one?"

"I am also betrothed to Daphne Greengrass and Luna Lovegood," Harry said.

Susan's eyes widened. "Fellow Children of the Alliance. I see. Your father wanted to strengthen the Alliance through you and unions with three of the Children."

"Probably," Harry said. "Well, this is a coincidence. I was going to write to your Aunt and the other families to suggest future meetings with them. I will answer my acceptance when I return to my dorm."

"Brilliant," Susan said, "So... I'll see you later then."

She smiled as blush dominated her cheeks and she turned and headed back down the stairs."

"That went well," Hermione said.

"If you say so," Harry said.

Hand-in-hand, the couple headed up the stairs. When they reached the Common Room, neither remembered the password, but a few older students stepped out as they arrived, so they were able to move past and into the Common Room. It was fairly empty except for a few first and second years.

"Harry!" Colin Creevey said, from a table where he sat playing chess with Ginny Weasley, "Hey, Harry! You're holding Hermione's hand. Is she your girlfriend, Harry?"

Harry glanced at Ginny whose head spun so fast toward him and Hermione, she must have hurt her neck. She frowned and looked quite sad at seeing the pair holding hands.

"Yes, she is," Harry said, "No pictures please."

"Where is Ron?" Ginny asked.

"In the Hospital Wing with a broken leg," Hermione said, "Long story. He'll be there till the night of the Leaving Feast. He's no longer our friend because he's too stupid to get over his petty jealousy that we're a couple. I hope others don't make the same mistake."

Ginny nodded once and returned to her chess match. Harry thought Hermione did quite well with giving that warning to Ginny – if she wanted to be their friend, she'd have to support them.

"Go see if you have any post," Hermione instructed Harry, "Then get some writing material and come back down."

Harry nodded and Hermione kissed his cheek. He grinned and made his way up the stairs. When he arrived in his dormitory, he found two envelopes on his pillow. He picked them up then moved to his trunk and opened it. He took out writing material, and placed his Map and Cloak in the trunk. He then returned downstairs and found Hermione sitting at a table. She was cuddling her cat Crookshanks and cooing at him.

"Crookshanks," Hermione said, "Harry is my boyfriend. Can you be a gentleman around him?"

Crookshanks looked at Harry as he sat down. He mewled softly, moved to a vacant chair and curled up to sleep.

"I think he approves," Hermione said, giggling.

"Nice to know one ginger does," Harry said, as he glanced at Ginny who was now ignoring him and Hermione; he cast a Muffliato Charm around the table, "I have two letters. I think one is from Gringotts and the other is from Madam Bones."

He opened up the plain envelope and looked at the letter.

"From Amelia," he said, "Basically says what Susan said it would."

"We can ask McGonagall at lunch for permission to meet with her," Hermione said, "Since you don't have permission to go to Hogsmeade, unless you reveal Emancipation this early.'

"Not yet," Harry said, "Can you make a convincing copy of your time turner by lunch? I'd like to also discuss our class changes with her."

"Actually I thought of a much better plan," Hermione said.

She told him her plan and he laughed out loud.

"Brilliant," Harry said, "I think it will work."

He opened up the Gringotts envelope and two letters poured out.

"This letter congratulates me on my three Betrothals," Harry said, "And this... yes!"

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Ragnok and his team found the Goblet overnight and removed the curse from it," Harry said. "Cup is whole and untainted."

"Excellent," Hermione said.

Bloody hell!" Harry said, "the Potter Family Vault is apparently in the same area as Lestrange's Vault."

"Near the dragon?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Oh, there is more. Ragnok and the crew who is harvesting the Basilisk will be here Sunday afternoon."

"Alright," Hermione said.

"I'm going to write a letter to Ragnok and thank him for finding the cup and removing the curse so quickly. Then I will write to my betrothed's families."

"I'll write to Mum and Daddy," Hermione said, "And ask them if you can stay with us for a couple weeks at the start of summer."

"'Kay," Harry said, "Hedwig can take all the letters at once."

As Harry and Hermione wrote their letters, Fred and George entered the Common Room and walked over to them.

"Hey Gred, Forge," Harry said.

"Did you do something to Ron?" Fred asked.

"Huh?" Harry asked, "Oh you mean his leg. Long story. Very boring, long story."

"Nah, not the busted leg," George said.

"We're wondering if one of you hexed him." Fred said.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Because he's quite odorous," Fred said.

"Gassy in the – well, something that rhymes with gassy," George said.

"Letting off big ones," Fred said.

"Pomfrey is threatening to place him in a giant bubble," George said.

"And he is also having trouble talking," Fred said.

"So," George said, "We wanted to know who hexed him."

"AND CONGRATULATE THEM!" Fred and George said.

"Passing the torch to new pranksters," Fred said.

"Just got to find them," George said.

"AND CONGRATULATE THEM!" Fred and George said again.

Fred and George walked away. Hermione and Harry looked at each other.

And burst out laughing.

* * *

**That ending was a last minute thing. It was going to be much more boring, simply ending with them leaving the dorm to go to the Owlery. Then my muse woke up from its nap for the save.**

**Next Chapter: Harry and Hermione meet with McGonagall. Dumbledore meets with Ron to find out what truly happened the previous night. Does not go well at all. And maybe... just maybe... the meeting with Amelia.**

**EDIT: Previously mentioned Poll now over. Results will be seen in Chapter 7.  
**

**P.S. Still no new keyboard yet. So slow typing and updates continues.**


	6. The Hogwarts Rumor Mill

**Chapter 6  
The Hogwarts Rumor Mill**

**Author's Note: Even though the title of this chapter only has very little to do with the majority of the chapter, I couldn't resist using it. And I might have had too much fun with it. Enjoy!**

**Warning: Ron and Canon bashing to the point of borderline parody. Oh, and flatulence too...**

* * *

Even if he were to live upwards of two-hundred years, Harry knew he would never solve the strangest mystery of all: how did rumors, secrets and gossip move faster than the speed of light around Hogwarts? Even with the majority of students third year and upwards in Hogsmeade, the Hogwarts Rumor Mill still worked at an impressive rate. By the time he and Hermione had reached the Great Hall for lunch early that afternoon, three things that had been private to them just hours before was now common knowledge.

The first was that Harry and Hermione were now a couple. This had mixed reactions. The majority of those students still in the castle were either happy for them, or really didn't hold an opinion of the new romance at all. Then there were the Boy-Who-Lived fan-girls. It was hilarious how easy it was to point these girls out. Those who weren't crying, were giving the evil eye to Hermione before breaking down to tears soon after. What was left over after all that was those who were quite negative toward the new couple. They weren't jealous like the fan-girls. These people simply didn't like that a Muggleborn had stolen the Boy-Who-Lived. There were mentions of Line Theft and Love Potions. Harry and Hermione simply ignored them all. They'd dealt with it before – of course, back then they _weren't _dating.

The second piece of gossip was that the Golden Trio was no longer a Trio. There were the surprisingly true versions of the guesswork – that the trio had split because Ron was jealous of the new couple. Then there were the other rumors. There were tales of an epic brawl between Harry and Ron that ended with Ron breaking his leg after Harry threw him from a great height – whether it be a broomstick, the very top of the Grand Staircase, or off the Astronomy Tower was still being decided. The last made Harry's eye twitch whenever he heard it mentioned. Strangely, nobody seemed to think Harry had thrown Ron out the window in their dormitory. It seemed the obvious choice, at least to Harry. Frighteningly plausible too. Harry had daydreamed of doing it after Ron didn't believe he hadn't entered in the Triwizard Tournament in the previous timeline.

The positive side of this was that it gave Harry and Hermione ideas if they ever needed to dispose of Ron if he got too annoying. Even though tossing Ron out of the dormitory window would fulfill a fantasy, the aftermath was too risky. After all, the broken body of Ron would be quite obvious. Harry favored a less risky fantasy – dropping Ron over the Hogwarts Lake, possibly right into the clutches of the Giant Squid. The meal would satisfy the creature, and Ron's disappearance might end up as him running away from Great Britain because he couldn't get the girl. Hell, Harry could even say after many months that Ron wrote him, seeking forgiveness for being the universe's biggest git, and informed him that he was now a male-to-female transgendered nun in a convent, practicing celibacy on the other side of the world. Could be true after all, in a parallel universe.

Of course in a parallel universe, Ron could have married Hermione, and had a daughter that ended up a member of the Malfoy family through marriage. And Harry could have married Ginny and ended up with children with really odd names that would take several years, threats of divorce, adultery, _actual_ divorce, and more than a few drinks along the way to figure how the hell they had ended up with those names! Thankfully it wouldn't happen in _this _universe. The only place the names Albus and Severus _might _be remotely close to each other were tombstones.

The third piece of gossip was connected to the second. Ron's flatulence and sudden and random spouts of muteness was widely known and would soon be legendary. Ron was getting the fame he wanted. The fact that it was infamy would probably go right over his head when he heard about it. Now people were trying to figure out exactly who hexed the youngest male Weasley. Strangely, Harry and Hermione were not suspects. Apparently the broken leg theory was enough for their – ahem – fictitious revenge.

The main culprits were Fred and George, followed by Draco Malfoy and his minions. Oddly enough Lavender Brown was the third suspect. Trelawney's warning earlier in the year about her needing to beware of a red haired man had gone through the rumor mill months ago, and seemed to point her out as a suspect. Trelawney had even made an appearance to say 'I told you so' and do a victory jig before she vanished back into the murky, perfumed depths of her tower. The fourth suspect was Sirius Black – that he had come in and hexed Ron, then left without a trace. Harry would have to remember to tell his godfather about that one.

It was quite odd how the culprit of the second and third piece of gossip had been switched. But that was the Hogwarts rumor mill in all its mysteriously magnificent splendor.

It was especially odd that the Professors did nothing to quell the rumors. Then again they had done nothing the previous year when Harry was labeled the Heir of Slytherin. Also Dumbledore was surprisingly absent in the corridors and the Great Hall during all these rumors. But that didn't bother Harry and Hermione at all.

Harry was currently sitting at the Gryffindor table with Hermione, eating lunch, and daydreaming of his earlier reunion with Hedwig and his passionate snog session with Hermione in the Owlery – and doing his best not to mix the two up, because as beautiful as Hedwig was, he didn't want to snog her – when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, Harry Potter," Luna Lovegood said.

Harry turned to the young blonde Ravenclaw.

"Hello Luna Lovegood," he said.

Luna cocked her head to the side. "How did you know my name?"

"How did you know mine?" Harry countered.

Hermione snickered into her goblet of pumpkin juice. Harry knew it was a silly question, but he didn't know how else to counter the fact that he said her name before he was actually supposed to know it.

"You're famous," Luna said.

"So are you," Harry said, struck with sudden inspiration. "I've read those articles of yours in the Quibbler."

Luna blinked dreamily and shrugged, obviously deciding it was a good enough explanation. Harry sighed in relief. He had not been sure that she was writing articles for her father's newspaper yet.

"Would you like to sit with us?" Hermione asked.

Luna sat next to Harry then looked at Hermione. "You're Hermione Granger, Harry's girlfriend."

"I know I am," Hermione said.

Luna gazed back at Harry. "I am going to take an educated guess and say you know about the –" she mouthed 'betrothals'.

"Why are we not saying that word out loud?" Hermione asked.

"I doubt you want it to be placed in the Hogwarts Rumor Mill yet," Luna said.

"Preferably not," Harry said, "we don't want certain individuals to know."

"Ronald Weasley or Headmaster Dumbledore?" Luna asked.

Harry grinned, deciding it was best not to be surprised she had guessed accurately. "Both."

"How did you know that?" Hermione asked.

"I tend to see things others overlook," Luna said. "I guessed they were in collaboration, but I thought you two knew about it. I heard about your hijinks and thought it was something you had planned with Ronald to discover the true Heir of Slytherin. I apologize if I was mistaken. I may have been the one overlooking it that time."

"It is alright, Luna," Hermione said. "Are those common? Overlooking things when it isn't common for you."

"A few times," Luna said, "The first was my mother's death. You look pale, Hermione. I am okay with bringing it up now."

Harry noticed that Hermione did indeed look pale.

"It isn't that, Luna," Hermione said, "I fear you've been a victim of numerous Confundus Charms or Obliviations. I... oh Merlin..."

"You can say it, Hermione," Luna said, "I might have had my memory modified several times, including my mother's death?"

"I'm sorry, Luna," Hermione said.

"I thought about that too in the past," Luna said, "But nobody believed me."

"We believe you," Harry said, "I promise you. We'll get to the bottom of it."

"I believe you," Luna said.

"Our mothers were friends, weren't they?" Harry asked.

"Best friends," Luna said, "You met me the day our fathers signed the You-Know-What, on your first birthday. I was a few months old back then."

"I can't remember that," Harry said.

"That's okay," Luna said, "You can see all our parents on that day in Daddy's Pensieve, when you talk to him about You-Know-What this summer."

"I'd like that," Harry said. "I guess it would be pointless to say we know about the... You-Know-What. I found out about it yesterday. I am also... er... _that_... with Daphne Greengrass and Susan Bones. I'm meeting with Madam Amelia Bones tomorrow."

"So... you're not... _that..._ to Hermione?" Luna asked.

Harry chuckled. "She's just my girlfriend."

"The...er... _that... _will take time to get used to," Hermione said. "But marriage won't be on our minds till we're older."

"Hmm... okay," Luna said.

She retained that dreamy stare as she put together a lunch plate. She said nothing else, but she had a peculiar smile on her face the three ate in companionable silence.

"We'll talk to you later, Luna," Hermione said, after their meals were finished, "Harry and I need to speak to Professor McGonagall."

"Alright," Luna said. "I am going to go talk to the Thestrals. I have not seen them lately cause of the Dementors. They must miss me."

She stood and headed toward the exit. Harry noticed for the first time that she wasn't wearing shoes.

"Her clothes are being stolen," Hermione said, "Aren't they?"

"Didn't know it had been going on this long," Harry said, "When we move into the Lord's Quarters, she is moving in with us."

"Agreed," Hermione said.

They made their way up to the Head Table, where several staff were dining on lunch. Both Dumbledore and Snape were absent though. Professor McGonagall eyed the pair as they arrived.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger?" she asked.

"We need to speak with you in private," Hermione said, "The first is about next year's class schedules. The second... isn't best discussed in public."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows as she looked from Hermione to Harry.

"Is it urgent?" she asked.

"Maybe?" Harry replied.

McGonagall sighed audibly and stood. "Very well. Follow me."

The couple followed the Deputy Headmistress out of the Great Hall, ignoring the eyes of students that followed them. A few minutes of silence later, they were making their way into McGonagall's office.

"I must admit this meeting is beneficial for myself already," McGonagall said, as she strode across the room and sat down at her desk "I was going to meet with you soon enough, Miss Granger. Do you have the artifact on you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione said.

"Bring it here," McGonagall said, "Oh where are my manners? Sit down the two of you."

As Harry and Hermione walked across the room, Hermione tripped and stumbled to the floor. There was a strange tinkling sound of broken glass when she hit the floor.

"Miss Granger?" McGonagall asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione said, as Harry helped her up, "Oh, bother. But the – ah – artifact is most certainly not."

She held the Time Turner in front of her. The glass of the hourglass was broken and the sand was pouring out.

"Oh dear!" McGonagall gasped, "Back away from the sand carefully. It is volatile when out of the container."

Harry and Hermione backed away. Harry knew, however, the sand wasn't dangerous. It was merely a copy Hermione had made along with the whole time turner before they had left the Common Room. The plan had worked perfectly. Hermione would trip and break the fake time turner. McGonagall and everyone else would believe it was real. The real one was safe and secure in Hermione's trunk.

Harry watched as McGonagall siphoned up the sand with her wand and collected the pieces of the necklace as well. Then she flourished her wand around Harry and Hermione to make sure the sand hadn't stuck to them.

"My apologies, ma'am," Hermione said, as she and Harry sat down at the desk.

"It was an accident," McGonagall said, "These things are easily breakable after constant use. No matter. The Department of Mysteries have plenty more. They will not miss one. Now, what did you wish to speak to me about?"

"We'll start with the class schedules," Hermione said. "I wish to move back to a three-choice max for intermediate studies. I no longer wish to take Muggle Studies."

"May I ask why?" McGonagall asked.

"I've looked through the course aims for all the way through seventh year," Hermione said. "Professor Burbage does not move into present Muggle technology or current times at all. Technology has changed in large amounts in the past sixty years and Professor Burbage refuses to teach about any of it."

"I am well aware of that, Miss Granger," McGonagall said.

"Ma'am?" Hermione asked.

"The class course has not changed in the past sixty years or so," McGonagall said. "Because the Ministry does not allow it."

"They want to keep wizards and witches oblivious to evolving Muggle technology?" Hermione asked. "Why?"

"My dear, if wizarding society learned of the weapons Muggles can use these days," McGonagall said, "It would cause widespread panic. Imagine if we showed the students what happened at Hiroshima. A bomb like that could tear our Wards to shreds. Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, even the Ministry would be destroyed. The children of Dark Alliance purebloods would tell their parents that could happen, and they start a war against the Muggles. Muggles could destroy us... easily. How many curses can you throw in ten seconds, Mr. Potter?"

"I don't really know, ma'am," Harry said. "I am thirteen after all."

"A trained Auror can cast ten in thirty seconds," McGonagall said. "They'd be dead in half that time,or less if a Muggle shot them. Most bullets these days pass through a Protego, a wizard's first defense. The result would be a dead wizard and the Muggle would tell their authorities about what they witnessed. With visual representation across the globe through cameras and television, the Statute of Secrecy would be irreparably obliterated. We cannot Obliviate six billion Muggles and their technology before we are destroyed. Do you understand why Muggle Studies teaches what it does now?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione said. "To keep most magicals oblivious that the wizarding world is grossly outmatched by the Muggles the Dark Purebloods believe are powerless."

"Blunt but precise," McGonagall said, "So you wish to take Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes as intermediates?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione said.

"Me too, ma'am," Harry said.

McGonagall looked at Harry with arched eyebrows. "I see two issues with that."

"Hermione promised to prepare me this summer," Harry said, "I can be ready to take the tests to go to fourth year on the first day of term."

"I have no doubts," McGonagall said, "which brings us to the other issue. Headmaster Dumbledore wishes for you to continue Divination."

"He wishes me to continue," Harry said, "so that when he finally tells me about the Prophecy hanging over my head, I'll believe his every word."

McGonagall's brow furrowed. "Just how do you know that, Mr. Potter?"

"With all due respect, that does not have anything to do with my education, ma'am," Harry said, smoothly, "Trelawney predicts my death once a week – more so if she can muster it. I am through with it. This is officially why I wish to leave her class."

McGonagall's lips pursed. "Very well, Mr. Potter. If you can pass the third year exams on the first day of next term, you can join Miss Granger with the rest of those advancing. If not, you'll take the third year courses."

"Understood," Harry said.

"I assume that topic is finished," McGonagall said, "What is this other pressing matter?"

"Recently I discovered I am Betrothed to three girls," Harry said.

"My goodness!" McGonagall exclaimed. "I assume your father had something to do with this."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said. "He did it so the Great Alliance would live on."

"I am pleased you are knowledgeable about your family legacy, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, "Charlus, your Grandfather, was a dear friend of mine. As were your grandmother and parents. Now, what does this have to do with me?"

"I need permission to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," Harry said. "Susan Bones is one of my Betrothed. Her Aunt, Madam Amelia Bones wrote to me this morning. She wants to meet with me tomorrow at noon at the Three Broomsticks to discuss the Contract."

"I assume you said you would meet her," McGonagall said; it wasn't a question. Harry nodded. She sighed. "You have my permission, Mr. Potter. It would be quite sad if you could not visit Hogsmeade – legally – as a third year like the rest of your peers."

Harry blushed. McGonagall was apparently aware that he had visited illegally.

"Thank you, ma'am," Harry said.

"Please keep an eye on him tomorrow, Miss Granger," McGonagall said, "Even if you have to hold his hand the entire time."

"You want her to treat me like a child?" Harry asked.

"Mr. Potter," McGonagall, "in my younger days, a gentleman held the hand of his girlfriend on a date. I assume that has not changed in the present."

Harry and Hermione blushed and shook their heads.

"I do hope your new romance is the only truth amidst the latest talk in the Hogwarts Rumor Mill," McGonagall said, "I heard nasty rumors that you tossed Mr. Weasley from the Astronomy Tower."

Harry's eye twitched. "Just gossip, ma'am."

"I thought as much," McGonagall said, "Mr. Weasley may not approve of your relationship, but that does not condone violence. Am I understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Harry and Hermione said.

"Do you know anything about Mr. Weasley's current predicament?" McGonagall said. "Apparently he has been hexed with random bouts of – ahem – flatulence, of all things, and the Langlock Hex as well. "

"No, ma'am," Hermione said, "We know nothing about it."

McGonagall looked at Harry and he nodded.

"Very well," McGonagall said, "I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Professor Snape is currently attempting to find a cure. Mr. Weasley should be well in no time. If that is all, you are excused."

"Thank you, ma'am," Hermione said.

Harry and Hermione stood and left the office, Neither talked until they were a corridor away.

"I cannot believe that trick with the fake time turner worked," Hermione said.

"Love, it was your idea," Harry said.

"Yes, but still," Hermione said.

"Uh-huh," Harry said, "So... think Snape can succeed?"

"Nope," Hermione said.

"Me either," Harry said, "What do you want to do now?"

"The Dementors are gone," Hermione said, "So lets go outside and find our own private little patch of the Grounds solely meant for the two of us for the next four years. Then we can cuddle until dinnertime."

"I'd like that very much," Harry said.

* * *

Meanwhile Albus Dumbledore was making his way to the Hospital Wing. He had been away from Hogwarts for the duration of the morning and early afternoon to discuss the Triwizard Tournament with Ludo Bagman, Bartemius Crouch and Cornelius Fudge. The talks had been underway for a few weeks now, but were just beginning to discuss the meat and potatoes of it.

Of course they didn't get too much done. When Bartemius heard that Igor Karkaroff would be returning to British soil for the tournament, he was spitting mad. It had been he who had failed to keep the man in Azkaban, and had gotten a lot of flack for it. Between that and his son's imprisonment – which led to Junior's eventual death around the same time Senior lost his wife - he had been forced to step down from the Head of the DMLE. Bartemius had once been one step from the Minister of Magic position but his troubles had ended that. He had fought and fought again for the position. But Cornelius Fudge had taken it. Fudge and Bartemius didn't get along well due to this. So that too caused issues during the meeting.

Overall the so-called meat and potatoes were quite raw. Nothing much had been achieved that day. So Albus he decided he had much more pressing issues to take care of.

Because he had been away from the castle, he had not heard the latest dish from the the Rumor Mill. So when he had walked into the Hospital Wing, he was not prepared for the smell wafting from the direction of Ron Weasley. Madam Pomfrey was hovering nearby and, oddly enough, had a Bubble Head Charm on her head.

"Dear Merlin," Albus said, as he applied a Bubble Head Charm on himself, "Did the young man die?"

"No, Headmaster," Poppy said, "Did you not hear the gossip? Someone has hexed the boy with a Flatulence Hex and a Langlock Hex. He can't walk on his bum leg so he can't go take a shower. I can't get near him to do a sponge bath, due to the smell wafting through the Bubble. House Elves will not get near him either."

"Dear boy, who did this to you?" Albus asked Ron.

Poppy's yelp of 'no' was muffled by a choking sound and a very loud burst of flatulence.

"It is no good!" Poppy said, "Whenever he tries to tell us who did it, _that _happens. Obviously the whole thing is triggered by him trying to tattle on the culprits."

"Perhaps his twin brothers did it," Albus said.

"Nay," Poppy said, "They visited him, but he had already started suffering symptoms. I have also eliminated Harry Potter and Hermione Granger as culprits. They left long before it started."

Another choking sound was followed by a burst of flatulence.

"Sybil came in here earlier trying to pin the blame on Lavender Brown," Poppy said. "She was nowhere near here today. So I gave Sybill a Hangover Potion and shooed her away. She was dancing in the Great Hall earlier, and I knew it had to be due to the drink."

"She recently made a Prophecy that proved to be nothing but a tale about a mouse," Albus said, "Sherry soothes the post trance symptoms."

Albus of course kept several charms on the Seer alerting him when she made a Prophecy. Also all the Orbs created by her Prophecies went directly to him. Many things she said over a period of a day were snippets of Prophecies that needed to be put together like puzzles. It was Albus' current favorite pastime to put together the pieces. Better than ten-pin bowling. Almost as good as manipulating people.

"Mr. Weasley?" Albus asked. "I'd like you to walk me through what happened last night with you, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger."

Ron shook his head. Albus reached into his cloak and removed a large money bag. Ron's eyes widened and he opened his mouth.

The following burst of flatulence burst the bubble around Albus' head and sent him running from the Wing gasping and whinging and muttering about 'removing beans from the menu.'.

Well... that is what little First year Slytherin Astoria Greengrass told the next person she saw, which began turning the gears of the Rumor Mill.

Fifteen minutes later when the story finally got into the ears of Harry and Hermione, who were cuddling in their new spot under a shady tree, their laughter was heard clearly by Luna Lovegood.

The little girl smiled at the sound. She looked forward to the exciting future ahead with her future husband and First Wife,and other sister-wives. She whistled a little jingle about beans being the magical fruit as she fed the Thestrals some raw strips of beef.

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**I have no idea where most of this chapter came from. But I hoped you liked it. Astoria is the proper age in this story... she's a year younger in Harem War.  
**

**Next chapter: Meeting with Amelia Bones, and maybe... maybe... Daphne Greengrass.**


	7. Meeting with Amelia Bones

**Chapter 7  
Meeting with Amelia Bones**

**Author's Note: Due to a dominating win on the poll – 73% and 175 votes- Hermione's parents will ACCEPT Harry as a guest. Thank you to all who voted. I think we can expect to see more polls in the future regarding this story.**

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It was amazing how peaceful life was around Hogwarts when not in the vicinity of one Ronald Bilius Weasley. That was the second wisp of thought to pass through Harry's head when he woke up on the second morning after his trek through time. The first thought was, of course, about Hermione.

For the first time in recent memory, he had experienced the best night of sleep he ever had in a Gryffindor dormitory. For once, he did not have to listen to the chainsaw-like snores coming from the direction of Ron's bed.

Dinner the previous night was amazing, mostly owing to the fact that Ron wasn't there noisily gorging himself on everything in his vicinity, whilst attempting to talk to Harry about mostly nonsensical things with a full mouth. The conversation around the Gryffindor table consisted of Hogsmeade fun, as well as discussion of Harry and Hermione's new romance and the other rumors. Harry was quite happy the Rumor Mill hadn't caught on to his Betrothal Contracts and hoped that would at least last until the end of term.

The only sad downside to the meal was the disappearance of beans – green, black, red, baked, and sadly jelly, including Bertie Bott's. It seemed the rumors had been quite correct. Harry and Hermione decided it was an acceptable sacrifice for the Greater Good. Then they cringed visibly and vowed never to use the phrase again.

With thoughts circling his brain – consisting of a Ron-less breakfast in the near future, Hermione, and the upcoming meeting with Amelia Bones - Harry left his bed and proceeded to dress into the nicest of his clothes – he needed to look proper for the meeting with Madam Bones and his first official date with Hermione. When he finished, he made his way to the Common Room, where he found Hermione sitting on the couch in front of the fireplace, reading a book. He walked up to the back of the couch, leaned down to her and kissed her cheek. She gasped, then giggled when she saw him. Harry then pecked her on the lips and backed away.

Good morning," he said, "What are you reading?"

"The book about Lords, Ladies and Houses I bought in Diagon Alley," Hermione said, "There is a section about the – ahem – You-Know-Whats. Thought it best that I was prepared for today. I'll walk you through it in the privacy of a carriage when we head for Hogsmeade."

"Alright," Harry said, "Shall we head for the Great Hall? I want to see if a Ron-less breakfast is as excellent as a Ron-less lunch or dinner."

"Alright," Hermione said, "Do you think there will be beans on the menu?"

Harry snorted. "We're not that lucky."

Hermione snickered and agreed. She banished her book to her trunk, then left the Common Room hand-in hand with Harry. When they reached the Entrance Hall, several minutes later, they found Arthur Weasley walking across the room.

"Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Madam Pomfrey contacted me over the Floo Network early this morning and asked me to come and collect Ron," Arthur said, "She thought it best if he come home early. He has no more exams to do, and with his injured leg, he would be stuck in the Hospital Wing until the end of term. So it is pointless to remain here with nothing to do."

"Did Mrs. Weasley come with you?" Hermione asked.

"She's at home setting up a makeshift bedroom in the sitting room," Arthur said, "Since Ron won't be able to use the stairs to go to his bedroom."

"Well, give him our best," Harry said.

"I will do that," Arthur said, "Thank you. I best be off."

Harry and Hermione said farewell to the Weasley patriarch and walked into the Great Hall. Midway through breakfast – once again void of beans - the post owls made their way toward the various students. Hedwig swooped down toward the Gryffindor Table, and dropped a letter in front of Hermione, then two more in front of Harry and perched herself on a jug of orange juice near Harry. Harry fed her a piece of bacon then began reading his letters. The two letters basically said the same thing. Both Xenophilius and Daphne's parents would get in touch with him after the term ended to set up a date and time to discuss the Betrothal Contracts.

"Mum wrote back!" Hermione said, after casting Muffliato around them to ensure privacy, "She says you can stay at my house for at least the first two weeks of summer."

"And how do they feel about our relationship?" Harry asked.

"Mum is happy for me," Hermione said, "But she says she wants to talk to us about it. Oh, dear... If I remember correctly, this is the summer she gives me the Talk. Well, the second talk. The first was after my monthly cycles began the summer before second year. Since my parents work in health, their Sex Talk to me was more descriptive than usual. There were no slots or tabs in their terms."

Harry coughed. "And your father? How does he feel about me?"

"Daddy is... well, he's being a father, it appears," Hermione said, "If Mum's words are anything to go by, Daddy will tell you all about his days in the SAS during his father-to-boyfriend talk with you."

Harry gulped. "Offensive tactics meant to scare me. 'Treat my daughter wrong and I'll use my pistol.' Gotcha."

"More like his shotgun," Hermione said, "But yes, pretty much."

"Right," Harry said, "So between now and the time we get off the train, I better get my fill of kisses and cuddles?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Mum knows how to control Daddy. I'm sure we'll be able to kiss and cuddle. Maybe not around Daddy, though. No closed doors, of course."

"Of course," Harry said.

"I plan to have us begin training our Occlumency whilst at my house," Hermione said. "We'll need the quiet, peaceful location to do so. My bedroom might be the best place, but if my parents disagree, then we can always use the hammock in the back yard. We'll also work on getting you prepared for Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

Harry nodded. He had other things he wanted to discuss with her, but he decided it could wait until they had privacy. Even with the Muffliato Charms, he didn't quite trust discussing such things in public. Especially since Snape was at the Head Table, glaring in their direction. Harry realized Snape was probably wanting to yell in rage at them, and accuse them of freeing Sirius. He hadn't had the chance to do it yet. Harry thought it interesting that Dumbledore was not at the table, but he realized the Headmaster was probably with Mr. Weasley and Ron at the moment.

Harry found it humorous that a genius like Dumbledore couldn't figure out that Ron's flatulence and muteness, and his inability to discuss his former best friends were connected. Harry knew that Dumbledore had likely tried to get Ron to talk about what happened two nights ago, which resulted in the hilarious flight from the Hospital Wing if the rumors were anything to go by.

Of course wizards and witches seemed a bit lax in common sense and sleuthing. After all, it took a thirteen year old Muggleborn witch to realize the monster in the Chamber was a Basilisk. After all, how many creatures were able to Petrify a person? Then there was the roosters disappearing, and spiders fleeing. And Salazar Slytherin's favor toward snakes. Really... it was quite obvious and yet nobody with common sense - or with the amount of knowledge the Professors possessed - could solve it.

So Harry knew that he and Hermione were probably quite safe from being discovered as the culprits responsible for Ron's misfortune. Besides, the Rumor Mill had already taken them off the Culprit list, and they had told McGonagall they had nothing to do with it – a little white lie, of course – so it was unlikely anyone suspected them. Aside from probably Snape, but that wasn't too shocking.

Luna approached their table and sat down next to Harry. "Hope you don't mind if I sit here, do you?"

"You're always welcome here, Luna," Harry said.

"Thank you," Luna said, "Oh poo. There are no beans here either. They're a magical fruit, after all, did you know?"

Harry only nodded and grinned in Hermione's direction. Her face was red from the struggle of trying not to laugh out loud.

* * *

The carriages were scheduled to leave at ten-o-clock, so at ten-til, Harry and Hermione walked out toward the Thestral-drawn carriages. Hermione gasped as they approached one.

"You can see them, can't you?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Hermione said, her voice shivering.

"Come on," Harry said, nudging her toward a carriage, "You need a good cuddle to take your mind off that."

Hermione nodded and they stepped into a carriage and sat down together on a plush, cushioned seat. Harry wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close. Hermione smiled and kissed him softly on the lips.

"You are the sweetest boyfriend ever," she said.

Harry grinned and kissed her again. After a good half-a-minute of kissing, Hermione backed away and cuddled up to Harry.

"So assuming everything goes swell today," Harry said, "Sirius should get a trial soon enough. Hopefully before my two week stay at your house is finished. Then I can talk to Sirius and figure out where he and I will live. I am sure he knows something about one or two of the Potter properties, so he can tell us about them. I would like to visit the beach house in La Rochelle."

"Yes, me too," Hermione agreed, "It sounds lovely. Beach properties usually are, especially during the summer."

"Well, maybe we can stay there for a little while this summer," Harry said. "Once we tell Sirius and Remus our secret, they can help us with the locket Horcrux, and probably the ring as well. I – er – also think we should tell them about my thoughts of getting rid of Death Eaters."

"You think we should hunt Death Eaters this summer?" Hermione asked.

"When is a better time?" Harry replied, "With your time turner, we can be in two places at once so we have an alibi. We can research Death Eater residences and plan out each attack. Sirius and Remus can help us with any protective enchantments we find and so much more. We might be able to prevent the riot at the World Cup if we do it right."

"Voldemort will be in England soon," Hermione said, "The news of the Death Eaters' deaths will be all over the newspapers. Wormtail would tell him about it."

"What can Voldemort do?" Harry asked, "He'll be the size of an infant! And with most of his Horcruxes destroyed by then, he'll be weak and will probably be sleeping most of the time. There isn't anything he'll be able to do. Besides, he won't be at Riddle Manor until sometime in August. I remember it was after my birthday when I had the dream. So we'll have over a month before his return and around two before the final Quidditch match to hunt the Horcruxes and Death Eaters down."

Hermione sighed. "Okay. It is just... you're talking about cold-blooded murder."

"Either now or later, Hermione," Harry said. "Defeating Voldemort won't end the war unless his followers are stopped too."

"You're right," Hermione said; she still looked frightened though.

Harry kissed her forehead. "We don't need to talk about it anymore just yet. Walk me through the Betrothal Contracts."

Hermione smiled at the change of subject. Over the next fifteen minutes as the carriage made their way toward the village, she instructed him on the traditional Betrothal Contract meetings, and the most common provisos and requirements usually suggested.

"Unless Amelia has children in the near-future, Susan will be the last of her name," Hermione said, "So more likely than not, Amelia will suggest a Line Continuance Option in which Susan and your children with her will keep the Bones name. The same goes with Luna, as an only child. Daphne has a little sister, who I believe is a first year, so she could go either way."

"I have two titles," Harry said, "I'll offer Daphne one and – well – the other one can go to you, I assume."

"You are in my long-term plans," Hermione said, "So that is fine by me."

Harry grinned and kissed her. "You'll be a fine Lady Potter. So, we're almost there. Where do you want to go? We have a bit less than two hours to kill before we have to meet with Madam Bones."

"We can explore the shops," Hermione said, "And whatever shops we don't visit, we can go into after the meeting."

"Fine with me," Harry said.

The carriages soon stopped at the village and Harry stepped out, then helped Hermione. They followed the crowd of groups and couples along the cobbled pathway. Since it was the most popular shop in the village, they first went to Honeyduke's Sweet Shop to avoid the large crowd. Hermione allowed Harry to buy her one item as was the proper thing to do as her boyfriend. So he bought her a large deluxe package of Sugar Quills. Then they purchased a whole range of goodies, while laughing at the idea that Ron would be missing out. Unsurprisingly, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans were in high demand, due to them being banned during meals at Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione would save much of the candy for the ride home on the Hogwarts Express. Hermione also bought some sugar-free goodies for her dentist parents.

Over the next hour-and-a-half, they walked from shop to shop, and had no problem keeping their promise to Professor McGonagall to hold hands while doing so. One of the first things Harry bought was an Undetectable Extension bag similar to the one Hermione had. The bag made it much easier to store all their purchases inside. In Zonko's, they bought a number of items for one simple reason: the items would assist them whilst hunting down the Death Eaters later that summer.

When it was nearing noon, Harry and Hermione stepped into The Three Broomsticks. They heard Susan calling them toward the back of the large dining room.

"Auntie rented a private room," she said, when they approached and greeted her, "Follow me."

They followed Susan down a long corridor and through a doorway. The room they walked into was small and simple in a not-so-boring way. There was a table and four comfortable chairs and not much else. Amelia stood as they entered.

"Harry Potter," Amelia said, as she looked at him, "Dear Merlin, it is as if I am back in Hogwarts with your father. You look so like him. But you have -"

"My mother's eyes," Harry finished.

"I suppose you hear that a lot," Amelia said, "Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and Susan's Aunt and Guardian."

"This is Hermione Granger," Harry said, "My brilliant beautiful girlfriend and adviser for this meeting."

"Well, come and sit down," Amelia said; Harry and Hermione sat down on one side of the table, while Susan joined her Aunt on the other side, "I hope you don't mind. I took the liberty of ordering four specials and butterbeer. Should be served shortly. Girlfriend, eh? I assume you know about the Betrothal?"

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione said, "It may take a while to get used to, but I see Harry as my long-term love."

Amelia raised her eyebrows. "So you would participate in Polygamy? Susan informed me that there are two other girls aside from herself that Harry is contracted to wed. Susan told me a lot about you. I am under the impression Polygamy is frowned upon in Muggle society."

"It is indeed," Hermione said, "But Harry is my best friend, and even at fourteen, I can say with all honesty I do love him dearly. I wish to spend my life with him. If he must be wed to three other women, then so be it."

Amelia smiled. "Oh, Lily would have loved you, Miss Granger. Feisty and unafraid to speak your mind, just like her. I am going to like you."

Hermione blushed deeply. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Mr. Potter," Amelia said, "I must admit that you caught me unawares and unprepared. I was not expecting to receive a notice about Susan's active Betrothal until at least your seventeenth birthday. Am I correct to assume that you are now Lord Potter, and basically an Emancipated minor to boot?"

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, "I intend to be honest about how that came into play. It is one small part of what I fear will be a very long discussion we wanted to have with you. Aside from the Betrothal Contract business, I mean. It is more or less along the lines of official DMLE business."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "I am intrigued already, Lord Potter. But let us get through the Betrothal business first."

"It is Harry, ma'am," Harry said, "And I agree."

"Amelia, then," Amelia said, "Since you are only thirteen going on fourteen and appear to be in a steady, long-term relationship with your girlfriend, I assume marriage to another girl is the last thing on your mind. So shall we agree to postpone wedding date discussion for a long while?"

"I wholeheartedly agree," Harry said. "For now, I'd be happy to be Susan's friend. However, it is in my future plans to change my residence at Hogwarts to the Lord's Quarters and will offer the same to my intended – I consider Hermione on that list as well – if they so desire it. Mostly for their own protection. Once the news about the Betrothal Contracts gets around the school, a lot of girls will be jealous toward my Betrothed."

"And jealous girls – especially witches - can have a mean streak," Amelia said, nodding; she glanced at Susan, "What do you say to that, Susan?"

"I will consider it," Susan said.

"I highly doubt I'll move in before the start of next term," Harry said, "So you have all summer to consider."

"Alright," Susan said. "I'd be happy to be your friend and get to know my intended better in the future."

"I'd like that," Harry said.

"Moving on," Amelia said, "Do you know what the term 'Line Continuance Option' means, Harry?"

"Hermione walked me through all the terms and basics on the way to Hogsmeade," Harry said.

"Excellent," Amelia said, "Susan is the last Bones. There is a small chance I will be able to extend the family line on my own, but I think it would be best if we use the Line Continuance Option for Susan. She and any children you have with her will keep her name, perhaps add Potter to the end. And you will be Regent Lord Bones until a future son reaches age of majority. I am curious. How many titles to you have to your name? Do you know?"

"Potter, of course," Harry said, "And Peverell. Also second-in-line for Black through my grandmother. I would assume first-in-line is Sirius Black and not Draco Malfoy."

Amelia raised her eyebrows at the mention of Sirius but said nothing.

"Luna Lovegood will likely keep her surname," Harry said, "But Daphne Greengrass' parents might decide their youngest can be responsible for the Line Continuance. So Daphne can be Lady Peverell, and assuming everything goes well, Hermione will be Lady Potter."

Hermione's smile said she was fine with that.

"Are you familiar with the Great Alliance?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, "It was explained to me when I was told why my father opted to pen three Betrothals. I am not one for politics, but I will probably follow my grandfather's legacy."

"That will be interesting to see in the future," Amelia said, "So we can agree to a Line Continuance Option, and much like the wedding date discussion, I think we can leave the talk of children for another time."

"I'd like that, ma'am," Harry said, as he and Susan both blushed.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and upon permission from Amelia, Madam Rosmerta entered the room, with two trays floating alongside her. She delivered the meals, asked if they'd like anything more, and upon hearing there wasn't, left the room again. The four started in on their meals – fish, chips and butterbeer, and Amelia spoke up again.

"Well, I think that is all I needed to discuss when it came to the Betrothal," Amelia said, "Unless you have questions?"

Harry looked at Hermione and she shook her head, so he did the same.

"Excellent," Amelia said, "Now we can move on to this other discussion you spoke of."

Harry looked at Hermione and she nodded. Harry inhaled and exhaled and prepared himself.

"Well, I guess it starts with Sirius Black's appearance at Hogwarts two nights ago," Harry said.

Amelia and Susan shared the same expression: shock.

"I have not heard about this!" Amelia said, "I assume it was the same evening Minister Fudge was at the school for a hippogriff's scheduled execution."

"Yes ma'am," Harry said.

"And Fudge never said a word to me!" Amelia said, "Tell me everything, Harry."

"What you're about to hear is quite unbelievable, but all entirely true," Harry said, "I would be willing to retell it in the future with an Honor Vow, Veritaserum, and a Pensieve if it comes to it."

"As would I," Hermione said.

"I am listening with open ears, Harry," Amelia said.

So Harry and Hermione began their tale of the original, eventful meeting with Sirius. This included Buckbeak, as well as their incident with Padfoot and Scabbers. They also described Remus and Sirius' story, Pettigrew's reveal, and Snape's interference. Then they spoke of Remus as a werewolf, Pettigrew's escape and the Dementors.

"Then we woke up in the Hospital Wing," Harry said, "And that is only the first half of the story."

Susan looked shocked and pale. Amelia looked just as pale and also emotional.

"Sirius is innocent and Pettigrew is alive and guilty," Amelia said, "Dear Merlin, an innocent man has been in Azkaban all these years."

"And we have more proof of his innocence," Harry said, "To do that we need to tell you the second half of the story."

"Alright," Amelia said, hoarsely.

"To begin this half, I need to tell you something first," Hermione said, "Due to my complex class schedule, I've been using a Time Turner this year to get to my classes. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore gave me permission."

"The reason she is telling you this," Harry said, "Is because once we arrived at the Hospital Wing, Dumbledore came in and spoke to us. He wanted us to go back in time a few hours to save Buckbeak the hippogriff and free Sirius."

"_Dumbledore _gave two students permission to do a highly illegal task?" Amelia asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, "I suppose I should also add that we tried to tell Minister Fudge about Sirius' innocence, but he wouldn't listen. Snape lied to him and said Sirius confound us. Fudge wouldn't even let me prove my story with Veritaserum and a Pensieve."

Amelia huffed. "I'll be talking to all three men soon enough. Continue."

"Hermione came up with a brilliant plan," Harry said, "We went back twelve hours instead of a few, left Hogwarts and went to Diagon Alley under disguises. We wanted to do some research to figure out if Sirius was being honest. Somehow we wound up at Gringotts and talked to my Vault Keeper. By the end of the meeting, I was Emancipated, learned about my inheritances and Betrothals, and also opened my parents' Will."

"I was never aware they penned a Will," Amelia said.

"I should have seen it at age eleven," Harry said. "But something or someone kept me from it. I believe that someone was Albus Dumbledore."

"Why would you say that?" Amelia asked.

"Because he was a witness to the Will being wrote," Harry said, "He knew I was never supposed to live with my Muggle Guardians and yet he placed me there as a baby. My parents suggested several names as Magical Guardians. None of them were Albus Dumbledore. One of them was you."

Amelia smiled softly.

"Another was Sirius Black," Harry said, "My Godfather... officially, through the Godfather Ritual."

Amelia's eyes widened. "Albus was the witness to the Will. Which meant he knew about the Ritual. He _knew _about Sirius was innocent and still let Sirius go to Azkaban all these years. On top of that, he placed you in an illegal guardianship. Criminal. Absolutely criminal! Oh, I will most certainly be speaking to that man! As soon as I am finished here!"

Harry and Hermione exchanged grins. They almost felt sorry for the old bastard. Almost.

"Something tells me your story isn't over," Amelia said.

Harry and Hermione continued their retelling. They spoke of Buckbeak's rescue, and the Dementors.

"You can do a fully-fledged Corporeal Patronus powerful enough to ward off several Dementors?" Amelia asked.

Harry answered with a showing of his Patronus.

"Amazing," Amelia said, as she stared at Prongs before it disappeared. "Please continue."

Harry and Hermione finished with the tale of Sirius' escape on Buckbeak and their return to the Hospital Wing.

"That is quite the story," Amelia said, "Do you know where Sirius is now?"

"No, but we promised to write him after we spoke to you about it," Harry said, "We hoped we could give him the news of a pending trial."

"You can be sure of that," Amelia said, "And I will ask the two of you to be witnesses to tell your stories. Veritaserum and Pensieves may be illegal in the courtroom, but no one will discount an Honor Vow."

"I will be there, ma'am," Harry promised, and Hermione agreed.

"I firmly believe your story," Amelia said, "But I can't speak for the remainder of the Wizengamot. They're a tough crowd. But the Honor Vow will help. Now is there anything else you wish to tell me?"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other. They knew they could tell her about so much more about Dumbledore. Then Harry had an idea.

"Have you heard about what happened last year during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco?" he asked.

Amelia huffed. "Not until Susan told me about it. Do you have anything I may not have heard?"

"Well, I have a question to ask of you," Harry asked, "A Basilisk was the creature responsible. Students, a cat and a ghost were petrified. Then there was the roosters disappearing, and spiders fleeing. And to top it off, Salazar Slytherin favored snakes. How was it that a thirteen year old Muggleborn discover what Professors could not? And why hadn't the Chamber of Secrets mystery been solved prior to that when it had been fifty years since the first incident including Myrtle Henderson's death?"

Amelia sighed. "I will certainly bring it up with Albus Dumbledore. Anything else?"

"I have reason to believe someone wanted me dead two and a half years ago on Halloween," Hermione said, "But I have no real proof. I ended up in a bathroom after Ron Weasley teased me. The same bathroom a troll came in later. The troll was brought into the castle by Professor Quirrel."

"So wouldn't he have been responsible for the attempted murder?" Susan asked.

"Perhaps," Hermione said, "But he told the students and staff in the Great Hall that the troll was in the dungeon."

"I remember that!" Susan said, "Dumbledore should have kept the students in the Hall! Instead he sent us to our Common Rooms."

"But... the Hufflepuff and Slytherin Houses are in the dungeons," Amelia said.

"Precisely," Harry, Hermione and Susan said.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Dumbledore, you dumb ass! So.. why isn't the late Quirrel responsible for your attempted murder, Hermione?"

"Because I have common sense and would have ran to my dormitory and hid in bed," Hermione said, "Not a random bathroom, the same bathroom a troll happened to go into. I believe someone put an Imperius Curse on me and placed troll lure in the bathroom. Someone beside Quirrel who knew he was bringing in a troll."

"Please tell me it isn't Dumbledore," Amelia said.

"He's a suspect," Hermione said, "After all, the very same year, he hid a priceless stone behind enchantments three first year passed easily, and told the whole school to avoid the same passageway if they did not want to die a painful death."

"He announced it to the school?" Amelia asked, "He basically said 'look curious kids, here's danger – have at it!' Ugh, that man!"

"Severus Snape is a suspect too," Harry said, "On top of lying to Fudge – well – I am sure Susan told you all about what Snape is like in class?"

"Yes, and I will be talking to him about it," Amelia said,. "Along with everything else. Please tell me that is all the revelation you have for me, so I can go yell at people?"

Harry decided he would not tell her what Ron was guilty of. That justice was to be given by him and Hermione.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said.

Amelia tossed the last bite of fish into her mouth then washed it down with a last gulp of butterbeer. Then she stood.

"It was wonderful to meet the pair of you," she said, "I will write to you when I get Sirius a trial."

"We'll give him the good news," Harry said.

Amelia smiled, and turned to her niece. "See you in a week, dear. Your Aunt has to go talk to some idiots."

"Have fun, Auntie," Susan said, "Love you."

"Love you too," Amelia said.

She said farewell and left the room.

"Your Aunt is a scary woman," Harry said.

"You should see her with people she hates," Susan said.

Harry and Hermione exchanged grins.

Oh, to be a fly on Amelia's shoulder!

* * *

**This chapter was fun. Next chapter will be much more fun.**

**Next chapter: Amelia yells at people. Harry and his girlfriend meet Daphne... and her girlfriend?! Yes, folks you heard that right. The Daphne in this story is bi! This will be so much fun!**


	8. Confrontations and Technicalities

**Chapter 8  
Confrontations and Technicalities**

**Warning: Discussion of Fem-Slash  
**

* * *

As Harry and Hermione walked through the dining room of the Three Broomsticks, they heard a feminine voice calling their names. Harry searched for the owner and saw Daphne Greengrass motioning him over with a hand. She was sitting at a table with Tracy Davis.

"Sit down, Potter," Daphne said, as Harry and Hermione approached; they sat down, "We need to talk. For starters, I guess we should formally introduce ourselves since we never have done so in the past three years. I am Daphne Greengrass and this is Tracy Davis."

Tracy smiled and waved.

"Nice to meet you both," Harry said, "I have a feeling I know where this conversation is headed. Can I do a charm to ensure our privacy? I rather not have it out in the Rumor Mills yet." Daphne nodded. "I'll show you a handy little charm that makes eavesdroppers only hear buzzing. _Muffliato._'"

"Huh," Daphne said, "I'll have to remember that one."

"Do you trust Tracy not to tell anyone about this discussion?" Harry asked.

"Of course," Daphne said, "She is my best friend and girlfriend."

Girlfriend?" Harry echoed, "As in...?"

"As in the same way Hermione is your girlfriend," Daphne said, "Got a problem with that?"

"Nope," Harry said, "Though I must wonder how it will affect our Betrothal."

"I'm bisexual, Potter," Daphne said, "Attracted to both women and men. Tracy knows I am Betrothed, and I am not planning on getting married until after I'm seventeen. Are you?"

"Nope," Harry said.

"Then I'm going to enjoy my time with my girlfriend," Daphne said. "She's been my girlfriend since our first trip to Hogsmeade. Long before I discovered I was betrothed. Didn't know until Dad wrote to me about the Betrothal being active."

"I wrote to your parents yesterday and received a reply this morning," Harry said, "They said they'd contact me again when they wish to invite me for a meeting to discuss the Contract."

Daphne sighed, then her steely expression softened. "They know nothing about my sexuality or that Tracy is my girlfriend. Will you please not mention it to them when you meet them? I'll do it when I feel brave enough to."

Harry was surprised to find that she was showing her vulnerable side. He always heard she was a tough girl with a hard personality. She wasn't cruel like Pansy, much the opposite. However, she had obtained the nickname 'Ice Queen' for a reason.

"Of course I'll keep your secret," Harry said, "I guess I should mention – a couple days ago I became an Emancipated Minor and achieved my Lordship."

"Unsurprising," Daphne said, "The Betrothal Contract wouldn't be active this early unless you did achieve it. Usually happens when the husband-to-be reaches majority."

"Well, I also found I have two titles," Harry said, "Lord Potter and Lord Peverell. I will name you Lady Peverell if you are not taking the Line Continuance Option."

"My parents will probably give that option to my sister," Daphne said, "Do you already have a pick for Lady Potter?"

"Hermione," Harry said, "We aren't Betrothed or engaged or anything like that, but we believe we're in it for the long term."

"How do you feel about Harry being married to another girl as well as yourself, Hermione?" Daphne asked.

"It will take some time to deal with," Hermione said, "But I hope to be friendly with you and the other two girls."

"Wait," Daphne said, "There are two more?"

"Susan Bones and Luna Lovegood," Harry said, "Two other Children of the Great Alliance."

"I see," Daphne said, "That is quite surprising."

"I'm going to give you the same option I gave to Susan," Harry said, "I expect to move into the Lord's Quarters at Hogwarts starting next term. I fear once the news of the Betrothals get out, jealous girls might try to hurt my intended. I invite you to join me there."

"Can Tracy join us?" Daphne asked, glancing at Tracy who blushed profusely.

"I would do my best to make that possible if that is what you want," Harry said.

"I might take you up on the offer then," Daphne said. "Tracy and I have kept our relationship a secret, but once it gets out, we fear retaliation from fellow house-mates. Not to toot our own horns, but we're two of the more attractive girls in the house. Boys would feel like we're not appreciating them by being in a relationship with each other. They wouldn't care we're bisexual, just that we're dating."

"That is horrible," Hermione said.

"That is the Slytherin house for you," Daphne said. "I'm more scared for Tracy's safety than my own."

"As I am yours," Tracy said.

"You're not typical Slytherins, are you?" Harry asked.

"Nope," Daphne said, "We're the black sheep of the House. But your pal, Weasley, doesn't care about that. He hates us all just because we're Slytherins."

"He isn't our pal anymore," Hermione said, "I don't think he ever was. We rate him up there with Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson now."

"Good on you," Daphne said, "You're much better off without him. And he deserves whatever you did to him. Oh, don't look so shocked that I know you are responsible for what happened to him. You might have fooled the other students and staff, but you can't fool me."

"Yeah, well, keep that quiet, eh?" Harry asked.

"I don't tattle, Potter," Daphne said, "Besides, you only did what most of us wanted to do to him for so long."

"Well, you're welcome then," Harry said, "If that is all, we have a date to continue."

"Sure," Daphne said, "We'll see you around... Harry."

"I look forward to it, Daphne," Harry said, as he and Hermione stood.

They said farewell then walked out of the restaurant.

"I think I am going to like those two," Harry said.

"Me too," Hermione said, "Much can be gained through a relationship with them."

Harry agreed. Hand-in-hand, the pair resumed their date as they started off down the cobbled roadway.

* * *

Meanwhile, Amelia Bones stepped out of the Thestral-drawn carriage and made her way toward the large front doors of the castle. During the ride up, she had prepared herself for her confrontation with Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. She knew it would be a difficult discussion. She was about to accuse both of them of criminal behavior.

She was going to tear into Dumbledore especially. If he had told the Ministry about Sirius Black and the Godfather Ritual, Sirius would not have gone to Azkaban. This angered Amelia the most out of everything. She and Sirius had been Betrothed to wed. They had dated for three years prior to Sirius' incarceration. They had discussed marriage and family, and had decided to wait until the Great War was over before they would marry. Amelia had never dated anyone else aside from Sirius. She had always maintained his innocence, but it wasn't until now that she could do anything about it. She would spend the rest of her life making it up to him. As soon as Sirius obtained his freedom, she planned to meet with him in private and make up for lost time. She would not be against marrying him before the year was out. Hell, maybe before the end of the summer!

But first she needed to make sure he obtained his freedom. After she finished up with Dumbledore and Snape, she would speak with Keeper Ragnok at Gringotts to obtain a copy of James and Lily's Will. Then she would speak to Cornelius Fudge and present him with the evidence she had uncovered. If Fudge knew what was good for him, he would call for a trial before the day was over. After all, the evidence was incontrovertible!

Peter Pettigrew was alive, and according to Harry and Hermione, had apparently been hiding in his Animagus form at the Weasley residence for over a decade. This brought up some strange questions. For one, how did the Weasleys not realize that their pet rat was living three times its usual life span? They should have been suspicious after at least five or six years. Then there was the fact that Percy, then Ron had been able to bring the rat to Hogwarts. Students were allowed an owl, cat or toad. A rat wasn't on the list. Just one of the questions she would ask Albus Dumbledore.

Before Amelia left the village, she had been struck with inspiration. There was a chance that Dumbledore or Snape would do something cosmically stupid and attempt to Obliviate her of the knowledge of their criminal actions. So she went to the post office, and wrote herself a note about what had been revealed to her by Harry and Hermione, then she placed several enchantments on it to the point where only she could see the contents. Then she asked the clerk to send an owl out with the letter in two hours. This would give her plenty of time to get her business finished.

Amelia stepped through the doorway and into the Entrance Hall. Minerva McGonagall was making her way into the Hall from the neighboring Great Hall.

"Amelia, what a surprise to see you here!" Minerva said, "I was under the impression you were meeting with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. I gave Mr. Potter permission yesterday to meet with you."

"I just finished up with the meeting a little while ago," Amelia said, "It was an enlightening conversation. Could you tell me where Albus and Severus Snape are at this moment? I need to speak with them."

"I believe they are both in the Headmaster's office," Minerva said, "I can escort you there."

"I think it would be best if you joined in on the conversation," Amelia said, "You might be able to give some insight into the topics of the conversation."

"I will certainly do my best to be of assistance," Minerva said, as she and Amelia started off together up toward the Grand Staircase. "I do hope nothing is wrong?"

"That remains to be seen," Amelia said.

The two women trekked through the castle in silence. Soon, they were stepping into Albus Dumbledore's office. Albus and Snape were seated on either side of the desk.

"Ah, Madam Bones," Albus said, "Welcome. You may leave, Minerva. You as well, Severus, we can resume our discussion at another time."

"Actually I invited Minerva to join the discussion," Amelia said, "And Severus can stay too. I am here to speak to him as well."

"What can we do for you then?" Albus asked.

"Before I even begin to answer that question," Amelia said, "I will give you fair warning. I have already sent myself a letter that details everything we're about to talk about, so know that it will be unnecessary to even attempt to modify my memory. If that letter surprises me, both yourself and Severus will not like the aftermath."

"I doubt such a warning was necessary," Albus said.

"That remains to be seen," Amelia said, "I just finished up a meeting with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in the Three Broomsticks."

"Mr. Potter was not allowed to be anywhere near Hogsmeade," Albus said, "He did not have signed permission from his guardians."

"I gave him permission yesterday, Albus," Minerva said, "He informed me that Amelia invited him to a meeting today and I thought it best that he was in attendance."

"What was discussed?" Albus asked.

"The first half of the discussion has nothing to do with his education or Hogwarts," Amelia said, "So as his Headmaster, you have no right to that information."

"Ah, and what about his Magical Guardian?" Albus asked.

"I am sure he will inform Sirius Black of what was discussed," Amelia said.

"I should have known he discussed Black with you," Severus said, "You can rest assured whatever Potter told you were fictions and lies."

"He volunteered to submit to an Honor Vow, Veritaserum and the use of a Pensieve," Amelia said, "If I asked you to take an Honor Vow right now, that you told the truth to Minister Fudge two nights ago, would you do it?"

"Lying to the Minister is not a crime," Severus said.

"It is when it impedes an investigation and threatens the life of an innocent man!" Amelia growled.

"Black is NOT an innocent man!" Snape hissed. "He was capable of murder at sixteen years old. Of course you would overlook such things as he is your Betrothed."

"Just like my department overlooked the fact that a known Death Eater has been teaching children for well over a decade?" Amelia asked, "I am not one of your students you can bully, Severus Snape! Do not cross me today!"

"Let us all calm down, shall we?" Albus asked. "Amelia, I have already given evidence in the past about Severus on the matter of his unfortunate past."

"Do you know what must happen in order to obtain the Dark Mark, Albus?" Amelia asked, "Rape and murder of a Muggle woman, or girl – the age does not matter – in front of Voldemort himself. Severus has the Dark Mark, this means he has committed at least two crimes in the past. I also know he is a Master Occlumens from a young age and is quite capable of blocking the Imperius Curse. I say the same to you that I did to him: you will not cross me today, Dumbledore. You wronged me, my loved ones and those I consider friends and family in so many ways."

"I hope you will refresh my memory on how I wronged you," Albus said.

"Oh, we will get to that," Amelia said, "But first we'll begin with the most recent stuff, then go back in the past, before we go even deeper. Minerva, Miss Granger told me that you and Albus were responsible for letting her use a time turner this year?"

"She wanted to take extra classes," Minerva said, "She is a very smart, highly gifted student. So we issued her a time turner."

"With express permission from the Ministry, I might add," Albus said, "Nothing illegal there,"

"I assume she was not allowed to use it for extracurricular activities?"Amelia asked.

"Of course not," Minerva said, "We gave her strict guidelines."

"Then I'm sure you'll be surprised to know that Albus gave permission to Miss Granger and Mr. Potter," Amelia said, being careful not to divulge private information about Harry, at least for now – unfortunately in order to complete her discussion, she would need to reveal things that Albus might use to come to the correct conclusion, "to use the Time Turner two nights ago?"

"Is this true, Albus?" Minerva said.

"Am I correct to assume," Severus said, "That you handed Potter and Granger the tool and plan to save Black?"

"I think I will let Amelia tell the story," Albus said, "If I am correct to assume that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger revealed the same to her."

Amelia then told the entire tale of what happened two nights ago, though she left out the couple's visit to Diagon Alley and Gringotts for now. Minerva gasped several times, and Snape glared at certain parts as well.

"The story is absolutely outrageous!" Severus hissed, "You expect me to believe that Potter conjured a Patronus strong enough to repel a hundred Dementors? On top of everything else."

"Aside from the proof of his story I revealed earlier," Amelia said, "He also showed me a very strong corporeal Patronus."

"I would have known Pettigrew was in that Shack!" Snape said.

"I doubt it," Minerva said, "It certainly sounds as if you were unconscious during Pettigrew's reveal. My goodness, Pettigrew alive, all these years!"

"For several of those years, he was inside this castle," Amelia said, "First as Percy Weasley's rat, then as his brother's. Correct me if I am wrong, but where does it say a rat is an appropriate pet to bring to school?"

"I gave Percy, then Ronald, permission to bring their pet to school," Albus said, "I had no idea the rat was an Animagus."

"Did you bother to ask how old the rat was?" Amelia asked. "Percy must have brought it to school seven years ago. And it was the same rat Ron brought years later. Common garden rats only live five to six years. We could ask Percy to come to the office and ask him how long the rat had been in his family. I am sure he would say the same rat was in the family for twelve years!"

"Parents have secretly replace dead or lost pets with identical ones for many years," Albus said, "My brother had a goldfish when he was a young boy. He never knew that it was in fact three different fish representing the same pet."

"That may be," Amelia said, "But this rat had a distinct injury – a missing finger. Are you telling me Arthur and Molly were cruel enough to cut off rats' toes?"

"They were undoubtedly foolish to have not noticed such a thing as a very old rat," Albus said.

"As you and your staff were," Amelia said, "But apparently it was not the first time you were negligent to students in recent years."

"More lies from Potter and Granger, Amelia?" Snape asked.

"Halloween, 1991," Amelia said, "Minerva, walk us through the events of what happened in the Great Hall during the feast?"

"Quirinus Quirrel came running into a packed Hall screaming about a troll in the dungeon," Minerva said, "Then he abruptly fainted. The students were terrified, it was chaos. Then Albus silenced them and -"

"And instructed the students to return to their Common Rooms," Amelia said, "Minerva, where are the Slytherin and Hufflepuff Houses located?"

Minerva's face turned pale. "The dungeons! Merlin, the students should have remained in the Great Hall!"

"Fortunately the troll was not in the dungeons," Amelia said, "Instead it was headed toward a specific bathroom. Which negligence would you like to admit to Albus? Did you know the troll was not in the dungeons, or did you instruct the students to leave the safety of the Great Hall knowing that half of the students were heading to where you heard a troll was at?"

"I knew the troll was not in the dungeons," Albus said.

"Hermione Granger has an interesting and believable theory," Amelia said, "Minerva, you said the young lady was basically a genius. So she did not lack in common sense?"

"I am sure she has an abundance of it," Minerva said.

"So why would she go to a random bathroom," Amelia said, "the _same _bathroom a troll appeared in. I will also add that Miss Granger said she would have planned to head to the safety of her dormitory. I will give you the answer. Someone placed her under an Imperius Curse and sent her to that bathroom then set troll lure on it. Someone wanted her dead."

Amelia looked at Albus, and found that he was frowning.

"Obviously Quirrel did it," Snape said.

"I doubt it," Amelia said, "He let the troll in as a diversion, not to kill a first year Muggleborn student. And where was Quirrel going? Why, to the forbidden corridor where a priceless artifact was guarded. Albus, explain to me something. Why did you use a school as a place to hide an artifact?"

"I decided it would be safest here," Albus said.

"Interesting," Amelia said, "Then why did you tell your students where to find it?"

"I did nothing of the sort," Albus said.

"Minerva," Amelia said, "Do the words 'a painful death' sound familiar?"

"Very." Minerva said, "Albus warned the students that the third floor corridor was off-limits to those who do not wish to die a very painful death."

"Albus," Amelia said, "I understand you were a young boy a very, very long time ago. Maybe you forgot exactly how curious teenagers are. You gave the students an open invitation to explore the dangerous location!"

"They would not be able to get past the door," Albus said.

"Wrong," Amelia said, "Hermione apparently was able to get past it. I imagine all she knew how to do then was a Basic Unlocking Charm. Minerva, walk me through the enchantments guarding the artifact."

"A Cerberus was first," Minerva said.

"Hagrid talks a lot," Amelia said, "A first year could get information from him about how to get past the dog. Next?"

"A patch of Devil's Snare," Minerva said.

"Hermione obviously knew to use fire or sunlight," Amelia said. "Continue?"

"Flying keys and broomsticks," Minerva said.

"Harry's a Seeker, a brilliant one if my niece is correct," Amelia said, "Easy for him to pass. Next?"

"My chess set," Minerva said, "A troll and Severus' riddles and Potions."

"Arthur once bragged to me how Ron is an expert chess player," Amelia said. "Harry beat a troll earlier that year, and... Hermione's common sense passed your test, Severus. Three first years got past your enchantments Albus. Something that was supposed to stop Dark Wizards from passing. Care to explain?"

"An old man's mistake," Albus said.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "The three kids broke dozens of rules. Did you punish them? Ah, I recall Susan saying Gryffindor went from fourth to first place that year at the Leaving Ceremony. It sounds like you were rewarding the kids for passing your test, Albus. Why? Was it something you wanted them to do?"

"We hand out points for excellent achievements at Hogwarts, Amelia," Albus said, "I recall you earning a fair share yourself."

Amelia huffed. "If I find out different, that you put together that obstacle course specifically for Harry Potter, there will be hell to pay. Next.. Albus, Minerva, Severus... would you say you and your fellow staff are capable of doing your job to the point where you are highly knowledgeable about several subjects?"

"Where are you going with this, Amelia?" Albus asked.

"How the bloody hell did none of you know a Basilisk was attacking students?" Amelia asked. "How many creatures Petrify, fear roosters, and cause spiders to flee from it? Salazar Slytherin favored snakes! Are you telling me none of you knew it was a Basilisk? That it took a genius thirteen year old Muggleborn student to discover what it was? Should I just write all of you up right now for incompetency? Because it does not sound like any of you are qualified to teach students when a second year student is smarter than the lot of you!"

Minerva covered her mouth with her hand and looked quite ashamed. Snape only glared at Amelia. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked at Amelia.

"Why the bloody hell was I not contacted as soon as the events began?!" Amelia demanded loudly, "Aurors would have been sent here to keep an eye on students, Unspeakables would find the creature's identity in a day, and roosters would strategically be placed around the school to crow at a single movement! No petrified students, no threats of shutting down the school! On top of that, the Chamber has been known for fifty years! A student died back then. Why was the mystery not solved in those fifty years?! Answer me right now Albus Dumbledore, or surrender yourself to my custody. You're already on my shit list. My Betrothed would have never gone to Azkaban if you had done your bloody job!"

Albus stared at Amelia. "Explain your last statement."

"Harry and Hermione went back twelve hours when you sent them back in time, Albus," Amelia said, "They left the school and went to Diagon Alley to research Sirius' innocence. And they found their answer. Harry went to Gringotts and uncovered his parents' will, and his Inheritance Test,"

Albus' eyes widened.

"You know what they found out, don't you?" Amelia said, "You were the witness of James and Lily's Will. He was never supposed to live with his Muggle Guardians. His parents named several Guardians including myself."

"Harry needed the protection of his mother's blood," Albus said, "He needed to be with his Aunt."

"That does not excuse the criminal action of ignoring a Final Will and Testament!" Amelia said.

"I told you we shouldn't have left him with them," Minerva said.

"We?" Amelia echoed.

"I was there with Albus the night Harry was dropped off at his relatives," Minerva said.

"What do you mean 'dropped off'?" Amelia asked.

"We left him on the doorstep," Minerva said, frowning.

"The doorstep?!" Amelia shrieked, "It was November! He was a baby!"

Minerva frowned and bowed her head. "I will never forgive myself for my actions that evening."

"Sirius Black was Harry's rightful guardian." Amelia said.

"Black betrayed Potter and Lily," Severus said.

"Wrong," Amelia said, "James and Lily's Will explicitly stated that Sirius was Godfather, through a Godfather Ritual."

Severus' eyes widened then he glared at Albus. "You knew?"

"He did," Amelia confirmed, "Pettigrew was James and Lily's Secret-Keeper. And Pettigrew being alive means Sirius is likely innocent of that crime. Albus was Chief Warlock even then and deliberately withheld information, resulting in Sirius going to Azkaban."

"Are you here to arrest Albus and myself, Amelia?" Severus asked.

"She cannot," Albus said, "Hogwarts is technically a sovereign nation. The Ministry frequently forgets that. Only Minister Fudge, the Wizengamot or the ICW can give her permission to arrest somebody on this soil. I doubt she went to Minister Fudge for permission before she came here."

"I can however place both of you on probation," Amelia said. "I am opening a full investigation on you, Dumbledore. Step one foot off this soil and you are a wanted man. As for you, Severus, I know all about your poor teaching habits thanks to my niece. You are a Death Eater, guilty of rape and murder whether you are reformed or not."

"I hereby resign from my post and give myself over to the Ministry willingly," Snape said, "I am also willing to divulge several pieces of information regarding Death Eaters and... other matters in return for a lighter sentence."

"Severus!" Albus said, "You cannot -"

"I can and will," Severus said, "You have lied to me for years, Albus. I do not need your sanctuary anymore."

"You will accompany me to the Ministry, Severus," Amelia said, "I will be seeing you soon, Albus. Goodbye."

"I would resign today if I didn't fear that doing so would leave the school in your hands," Minerva said. "And don't even think of attempting to modify my memory. I will be putting together fail-safes to make sure this does not happen."

Severus walked over to Amelia, surrendered his wand to her, then led her and Minerva out of the office. The Half-Blood Prince was leaving Hogwarts for the last time.

* * *

**So... that happened! I know Hogwarts isn't a Sovereign nation, but it works for my story.**

**Next chapter: Amelia meets with Fudge, who makes one good decision and some bad decisions as well. Also, Dumbledore confronts Harry and Hermione.. but will the meeting go his way? And Amelia talks some more with Snape. The Basilisk harvest and official announcement of Snape's resignation will be in two chapters probably.**


	9. Warnings, Reverse Psychology and More

**Chapter 9  
Warnings, Reverse Psychology and Interrogations**

**Author's Note: I am on cloud nine. Such an amazing response to the previous chapter. 90+ (!) Reviews in one chapter. And it has passed my Harem War story in followers and favorites (and only in 8 chapters compared to 40!) The response this story has gotten in the first week of publishing is incredible. I appreciate every review and it makes me so happy to read each one. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

**I will continue Harem War ASAP, but this story definitely has a better response to it. So this will have a lot of focus too.**

**Read on while I lay on my cloud for a while. Don't mind me.**

* * *

Five minutes after the departure of Amelia, Minerva and Severus from Albus Dumbledore's office, said office was in shambles. The contents of Albus' desk had been shoved off on all sides. Every single portrait inhabitant had left their portraits, leaving behind the canvas and various other contents of the portrait behind. A few of the portraits were barely hanging from the nails they were hanging on, and some had even fallen to the floor below – all due to the spells Albus had carelessly shot from the Elder Wand, and ricocheted off walls and other solid objects. After a spell had nearly collided with him, Fawkes had flown to a safe location in the room, taking the Sorting Hat with him so it would avoid being hit.

Suffice it to say, Albus Dumbledore was seething mad. Damn that interfering Amelia Bones! Even as a teenager, she had a feisty attitude and was never afraid to speak her mind, much like Lily Evans. These skills, plus her fantastic NEWT scores had sent her down a one-way street toward an Apprenticeship with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, eventually leading to her position as Department Head. Albus knew long ago that he should never cross her. When she stepped into his office that afternoon, he knew he was in trouble. And she had brought his two most valuable staff members into the picture as well. Dumbledore had quickly planned to Obliviate her, Minerva and possibly Snape before things went downhill at an impressive rate of speed.

Amelia had come dangerously close – even toeing the line – to discovering some of Albus' hardest kept secrets over the past few years. Albus knew she had pinpointed him as the one who had attempted to murder Hermione Granger through use of the mountain troll. She had also expertly walked through what had happened during the rescue of the Philosopher's Stone and had correctly assumed that Albus had used it as a test for Harry, one he had passed spectacularly, so of course Albus had rewarded him for a job well done!

Then there was the whole Basilisk thing – Amelia had loudly berated Albus, Minerva, Severus and the rest of the staff with a single breath. And to make things worse, she was quite correct! Those things she had described would have happened had he contacted her about the Chamber of Secrets. Albus simply had not wanted to contact her. Why would he when there was a chance the Basilisk would kill the Granger Mudblood, and maybe a few like her along the way! It didn't work – nobody had been killed and things almost ended disastrously for him! A year later, he was still being punished for it.

Also Amelia's story about Harry and Hemione's journey from confronting Sirius Black to rescuing him was quite a thrilling retelling. It was exactly what he had wanted to hear from Ron Weasley. But someone had foolishly decided to play some jokes on the poor boy. Whoever was responsible was due for a lot of trouble... if Albus could ever figure out who did it!

What Albus was certain of was that everything Amelia told him, was in turn told to her by Harry and Hermione. How Granger knew that she had been Imperiused to go to that bathroom, he did not know. What else did she know? She was quite dangerous to his plans. Albus had heard, only that morning, that Harry and Hermione were dating. That would not work for Albus' plans. She needed to be disposed of. However... her death would upset Harry too much. Which might throw him off his eventual destiny. So she could live. For now. There were other ways of getting rid of her.

However, there were also problems with that. The brat, obviously guided by the Mudblood, had outsmarted Albus, gone back further in time than was instructed, giving him time to go to Diagon Alley, speak with a Gringotts Goblin, likely his Vault Keeper Ragnok, and return at a proper time to save Buckbeak and Sirius. This information made Harry capable of seeing Sirius become an innocent man. Emancipated or not, it was assumed Harry would live with Sirius. Sirius would send him in the completely wrong direction Albus needed.

Harry needed to be a willing sacrifice so the Horcrux would be removed from his scar upon his death. If Albus could get Harry to partake in the Horcrux hunt, then Albus would have enough time to put together his plans – defeat Voldemort himself, earning a whole new appreciation from the British wizarding society which would give him open reign in the Wizengamot, and allow him to pass all kinds of laws that brought wizarding society back to the way it once was, the way it should be. This would not likely happen without complete support from the wizards and witches of Britain. Defeating Voldemort would seal that support.

Then there was Severus. He had willingly given himself over to the DMLE, and would likely be willingly to spill his secrets by the end of the day. Including those secrets about Albus – the Prophecy, Severus' part in it, as well as his criminal behavior, which would implicate others as well – key spies and useful minions in his circle. Amelia would likely hunt them down if only to hinder him! How could Severus do this, after all Albus had done for him? This couldn't simply be about the lies. Yes, Albus had deliberately lied to Snape about protecting Lily and her husband – doing so would have destroyed his key plans from the start! They had to die for the Greater Good. Why couldn't Severus understand that?

On top of all that, Albus had other problems closer to home. Minerva would never trust him again. She would likely inform the rest of the staff what she had heard by the end of the day. He would no longer be welcomed at Hogwarts. He would not be able to maintain his control over the castle when the staff were united in mutiny.

But Albus couldn't leave! He needed to be at the castle for the Triwizard Tournament to make sure his plans went perfectly. Also, Amelia's warning was clear – step a foot off Hogwarts soil, and he would be hunted by Aurors, Hit Wizards and whatever else Amelia threw his way. She knew he had important meetings in the Ministry in the future, regarding the Triwizard Tournament. This was a classic bait-and-hook scenario. It wasn't as if he could have all his future meetings at Hogwarts!

What was he to do? Then a sudden spark of inspiration came to him. He walked over to the Floo, placed some powder into the roaring fire and stuck his head in. As soon as he said 'Minister of Magic Office', which was only accessible via Floo for conversations by those who had exclusive permission, he was suddenly blasted backward. As he groaned painfully due to the hard landing, his eyes widened at the implications. Amelia had apparently blocked Floo access off to the castle. She knew he would want to get word out to certain individuals.

Not good at all.

Albus returned to his desk and sat down. He reached for a lemon drop, then realized the bowl had been upended and the contents scattered all over the floor in his rage. He realized then, he needed to clean his office. It wouldn't do to have it be a mess when he brought Potter and Granger in for a conversation. But they probably wouldn't return to Hogwarts until later in the afternoon. Thanks to Minerva's permission they were likely enjoying a nice date in Hogsmeade.

The thought made Albus want to vomit.

* * *

(_Half an hour later)_

Severus Snape stared at his reflection in the mirrored wall of the Ministry lift. His wrists were currently bound with magic-blocking cuffs. He, Amelia, and Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish were currently in the lift as it made its way down to the ninth floor. The Ministry's jail cells were one floor below the bottom-most floor accessible by lifts. Nobody aside from prisoners, Aurors and DMLE workers were given access there.

For some reason, Amelia had chosen to escort Severus through the Ministry's Atrium. Naturally he was stared at like an animal in a zoo exhibit and a Daily Prophet cameraman had snapped a picture of him looking emotionless as usual. He would likely be front page news tomorrow. He wondered how Lucius Malfoy and the other free Death Eaters would react to that. Didn't really matter, he decided, since he was going to snitch on them all. Damned if he did, and also if he did not. The decision was easy.

He then wondered how his students – especially the Slytherins – would react. Most of the students would likely cheer once his resignation was announced. He knew he had been the most hated Professor in the school. It wasn't a secret. Even Binns had a few favorite students, mostly history buffs – and the damned ghost spoke in monotone, read from textbooks as lectures, and got _everyone's _names wrong. The ghost had called him Snake for most of his education... aside from those few months where the damnable Marauders convinced Binns his name was Snivellus. Both names caused lots of snickers when mentioned by the ghost.

"Shacklebolt, Dawlish," Amelia said, "I have reason to believe someone will either attempt to break Mr. Snape out of jail, or kill him, just so he won't give up names and information, as he has promised. I want four – yes, four – Aurors on guard at his cell at all times. I will be interrogating him before the day is over, but I have urgent business to do first. I need to go to Gringotts on DMLE business, then meet with Fudge."

"I will assign the Aurors personally," Shacklebolt said, "And will be a part of the guard as well."

"Excellent," Amelia said, "Dawlish, your job is also important. Remind me, are the Senior Auror Cadets in training today?"

"Yes," Dawlish said, "They are still here."

"After you take Mr. Snape to the jail cell," Amelia said, "Locate Nymphadora Tonks for me. I wish to speak with her after I meet with the Minister. Tell her to be outside my office in... an hour or so. I have a personal task for her that will take up the final year of her Auror Training."

"Will do, ma'am," Dawlish said. "So how did you actually catch Snape? We've been trying to nab him for years, but Dumbledore always seems to save his arse. All that 'I trust him' rubbish... the so-called Leader of the Light trusting a murderer, rapist and Death Eater in one package? Sounds fishy to me. You should hear what my daughter says about him. You're a right bastard, Snape. How you lasted longer than a month as a Professor is a mystery to me."

"Nose down, Dawlish," Amelia said, "If you really want to know, he gave himself up."

"Really?" Dawlish asked, "He does have a brain under that greasy mop. Still... I have my reasons to hate him. Madam, do you realize he is solely responsible for the lack of Newt-Qualified Aurors and Healers in the past decade? You have to pass his NEWT class with Outstanding to qualify in the Senior Auror Cadet squad your first year. Otherwise you're off to Brighton Academy. He rarely gives Outstanding grades, mostly to Slytherins and most of them ain't Auror material. Likely, we'll find them on the other end of our wand. We could have had a larger number of Aurors on our squad when we were taking down his lot after the end of the Great War. Quite the coincidence... his teaching lost us good men against those bastards because we didn't have the manpower or numbers. Watch the Aurors pour in, in the next few years since he is no longer a Professor."

"I do agree he has a lot to answer for, Dawlish," Amelia said, "It will be my job to find out what."

Dawlish snorted. "Good luck. Just remember who he once answered to. Remember how many of his fellow bastards – those who got away due to the damned Imperius defense – would return if their Master ever decided he just didn't want to be dead anymore. It would be the Great War all over again."

"Mr. Snape has promised to give names," Amelia said.

"You better," Dawlish said to Severus, "Or my boot will be the one to kick your ass through the Veil."

Severus didn't answer. He merely stared at his reflection. He knew Dawlish had a good point. He had screwed up so much in the past, especially as a Professor. But he had to keep the Death Eater parents happy, or risk discovering that he was a spy. That had been one of Dumbledore's instructions. What a fool he had been. The old man had been using him since the moment he asked for sanctuary.

To think it all started because he uttered that disgusting word to Lily at the end of their fifth year, ending their friendship and vaulting her into the arms of Potter. The summer after that incident, he walked into a Junior Death Eater meeting, and the rest is history as the saying goes...

He started to wonder if keeping his silence would be better. After all, silence would be a one way ticket to the Veil, and he would reunite with Lily in the next great adventure. Obtaining leniency would likely land him in Azkaban for a few years. Literal hell was better than hell on earth.

Then as the doors of the lift opened with a ding, and he was escorted out, he realized... Dawlish might kick his ass into the Veil, but Lily would kick it again, in the afterlife, for the way he treated her son.

Maybe death wasn't so welcoming at the moment. He needed to redeem himself in Lily's eyes before he made his journey into the next great adventure. The interrogation would be a good start.

* * *

_(Forty-five minutes later)_

Amelia Bones walked into the reception room outside the Minister of Magic's office and over to the Minister's secretary, whom was lounging in her chair reading a trashy romance novel. She was carrying a creme-colored folder she had recently obtained from Keeper Ragnok who was only too happy to assist her.

"Is Cornelius Fudge available?" she asked.

The secretary's eyes slowly raised from her book then she jumped slightly when she realized who was speaking. "I think he is leaving shortly to go home. Is your reason for being here urgent?"

"Extremely," Amelia said, "DMLE business."

The secretary stood quickly, then walked over to a door behind her desk. It opened, and the secretary ducked her head in. A moment later, she turned around.

"He'll see you," she said.

Amelia smiled, thanked the secretary, then headed into the Minister's office. Cornelius Fudge was relaxing in his comfortable leather-backed chair at his majestic-looking desk.

"Amelia!" Fudge said, "I did not expect to see you today. I thought you would be spending the day with young Susan in Hogsmeade!"

"I had a very interesting day today, Minister," Amelia said, "Severus Snape is in DMLE custody in the holding cells. He gave himself up willingly for past crimes."

Fudge raised his eyebrows. "Did he now? To do so willingly means he wants a deal. What does he want?"

"He will give up information about Death Eaters and other stuff he has not mentioned," Amelia said, "In return for leniency."

"I won't give him a pardon," Fudge said, "Five years in Azkaban if he gives you enough information, Veil of Death if he does not."

Amelia was not surprised by this. Though five years seemed so few. But it was fifty-fifty. Snape gets a good deal or he gets death.

Amelia cleared her throat. "There are two other things. Albus Dumbledore. I have uncovered -"

"No!" Fudge exclaimed, "I do not care if he was caught trying to resurrect You-Know-Who! You will leave him alone!"

"Sir?" Amelia asked, shocked.

"The Triwizard Tournament is coming to Hogwarts in October!" Fudge said, "Do you know what the tournament will do for British wizarding society? If you were to arrest Dumbledore, it would be all over the media, and the IWC would pull the Tournament from Hogwarts and place it at Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. I do not want bad publicity! You will leave Albus Dumbledore alone until the day after the third task!"

"But that is a year from now!" Amelia said.

"You will do it or I will sack you right this moment!" Fudge exclaimed, "I better not hear or read the phrases Dumbledore or criminal activity anywhere near each other for a whole year. Not from you, not from your secretary, not from your niece. And definitely not the media! Nobody!"

Amelia frowned. She knew she needed a calm Fudge to discuss the final, most important piece of news with. So she had no choice but to comply.

"Yes, Minister," she said.

"Excellent," Fudge said, "you said you had something else?"

"Recently Harry Potter opened his parents' Will," she said, "And there was one piece of information you need to see."

"Oh?" Fudge said, "Let me see it then!"

Amelia smiled, removed a piece of parchment from the folder she carried, and walked over to Fudge's desk. She laid the parchment in front of him, and he looked at it. His eyes widened as he looked at the line concerning Sirius Black and the Godfather Ritual.

"This – this says – Amelia?" Fudge stammered, "This can't be!"

"That is from the official copy of James and Lily Potter's Last Will and Testament, Cornelius," Amelia said, "I assume you know exactly what the Godfather Ritual ensures -"

"Yes," Fudge said, swallowing, "This means that – but –!"

"It means that Sirius Black could never have betrayed James and Lily Potter nor their son," Amelia said, "He would have been a corpse before he went to Azkaban. Cornelius, are you aware Sirius Black has never had a trial?"

Cornelius' hands shook. "Dear Merlin. Harry Potter. He tried to tell me and I didn't listen. Severus Snape, he..."

"He lied to you," Amelia said, "Which is why I met with him, which led to his arrest."

"What – what should we do?" Fudge asked.

"Call off the Dementors," Amelia said, "I have reason to believe Harry Potter can get in contact with Sirius. Harry can ask Sirius to turn himself in. Sir, you should know. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger asked to be witnesses at the trial."

"I will give Black a two week deadline," Fudge said, "His criminal trial will be held in two weeks from today in front of the whole Wizengamot. If he isn't there, he's to be arrested on sight and sent back to Azkaban, whether he is guilty or not. He is obviously guilty about something if he stays away."

"He'll be there," Amelia said.

"He better," Fudge said, "Let Mr. Potter and this Granger girl know they can be witnesses."

"Of course, sir," Amelia said.

"If that is all, you may go," Fudge said, "I need to talk to my press secretary and let them know that the Daily Prophet needs to tell the public that Black is no longer considered dangerous. It will prevent panic if he walks in to the Ministry to give himself up."

"Good idea," Amelia said.

"You're excused," Fudge said, "And Amelia... remember what I said about Dumbledore."

"Yes, sir," Amelia said.

She collected the documents then headed out of the office. While the meeting could have gone better when it came to Dumbledore, she counted her blessings. Sirius was getting a trial, just as she had vowed to herself.

Five minutes later, she walked into the DMLE and found a pink-haired woman sitting in a chair, near her office, reading _Witch Weekly._

"Auror Senior Cadet Nymphadora Tonks?" Amelia asked.

The woman dropped the magazine and stood from her chair so fast she nearly tripped.

"Reporting for duty, Madam Bones," she said, standing at attention, "I don't like my name and usually go by Dora or Tonks... er... ma'am."

Amelia laughed. "Dora, then. You don't have to be formal. You've known me since you were – what – six? I babysat you with Sirius, James, Lily and Remus. And I remember you interrupting Sirius' best man speech at the Potters' wedding."

Dora's cheeks and hair turned red. "Sorry, Amy. Dawlish told me you had an important task for me and I don't want to mess it up."

"Good attitude, Cadet," Amelia said, "Yes, this is a very important task and may last until you graduate to the full Auror position. You are going to be Harry Potter's personal guard."

"Harry?" Dora asked, as she blushed again. "Haven't seen him since my final year at Hogwarts. And only at a distance. I was much too shy to personally meet him... and now that just sounds silly! Why am I guarding him? Is it because of Sirius? Cause we both know he would never hurt the kid."

Amelia smiled. "You'll be happy to know that I am quite sure Sirius is one-hundred percent innocent. He has a trial in two weeks. No, you'll be guarding him from – ahem – Albus Dumbledore."

Dora blinked. "What?

"What I am about to tell you is not to be repeated unless is said to you first," Amelia said, "I have reason to believe Dumbledore is trying to use Harry for his own personal means. And they are not entirely good means. Just watch the man when he is around Harry. Harry and his friends may be in danger from the man. Also, you'll be staying with Harry this summer. Er... haven't exactly cleared that up yet, but that is my hope. But you'll see Sirius for much of the summer once he gains his freedom. Also – and keep this quiet too – Harry has a girlfriend, Hermione Granger. And three Betrothed, including my niece."

"Blimey, he's got himself a little Harem," Dora said. "Hermione, eh? I always wondered if they'd get together. They make a cute couple."

"Aside from Hermione, who he'll likely be around a lot," Amelia said, "The other girls probably won't be around as often until September unless his plans change."

"Alright," Dora said.

"I want you to meet me in the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade tomorrow at eight-o-clock," Amelia said, "Then we'll go up to Hogwarts. Pack at least a week's amount of clothes. When you return to England you can pack more if you need to. Any questions?"

"No, ma'am," Dora said.

"Excellent," Amelia said,. "You are excused. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Dora nodded and left the office. Amelia walked into her office and sat at her desk. Deciding she would make Snape sweat a little before she interrogated him, Amelia started writing down a list of questions on a pad of parchment. The first was something she hadn't thought of until the moment she wrote it down:

_What were you and Albus discussing before I walked into his office this afternoon?_

It felt like an odd question when looking at it, but she had a feeling the answer would be important...

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione were cuddled up inside a Thestral-drawn carriage as they rode back to Hogwarts. Harry was reminiscing about his date in Hogsmeade with Hermione. After their discussion with Daphne and Tracy, they continued exploring the shops that they had missed out on before they had to meet with Amelia.

After they explored the shops, they had walked up to the Shrieking Shack with the intention of finding a place to cuddle and snog. But when they arrived, they found Daphne and Tracy doing exactly what they wanted to do. Harry couldn't be too surprised at what they had walked up on. Where better than near the Shrieking Shack for secret lovers to have a bit of privacy. Harry and Hermione had turned to leave when Daphne had called out to them. Neither she nor Tracy were upset that it was them who had found them, rather they were relieved no one else had. The two couples spent a half-hour or so talking about random topics and enjoying the company before they walked together back to the village. Then they had piled into separate carriages and returned to the castle.

When the carriage arrived, Harry and Hermione made their way inside the Entrance Hall.

And found Albus Dumbledore waiting for them.

"Greetings," he said, "Would you please accompany me to my office? I'd like to talk to the pair of you."

Harry glanced at Hermione and she shrugged and nodded. Harry decided 'what the hell' and agreed as well. An eerie silence surrounded the three of them until they stepped into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore crossed the office and sat at his desk.

"Sir, why are we here?" Harry asked, "Is this about me spending the day in Hogsmeade? Because Professor McGonagall gave me permission."

"It is strange you felt you needed permission," Dumbledore said, "Given that you are an Emancipated Minor."

Harry found he was not surprised the old man knew. "So Madam Bones told you about our visit to Diagon Alley then?"

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, "You know – leaving the grounds without permission does usually qualify for suspension or expulsion."

"So does trespassing into a forbidden corridor," Hermione said, "You gave us 110 points for that if I remember correctly."

Dumbledore glared at Hermione, and she looked over his head.

"Legilimency on a student is illegal, Professor," Hermione said, "Maybe I should write to Madam Bones."

"I guess I should tell you," Harry said, "Hermione is a Vassal of House Potter. Attempt to attack her or threaten her, and deal with me. I would even go as far as challenging you to an official duel for satisfaction."

Albus blinked and looked down at his desk. "Threatening a Headmaster also qualifies for expulsion."

"So expel us," Harry said, then a thought entered his mind, "Oh, I get it. You'd expel Hermione, but not me so that she cannot influence me anymore, right? How you can consider she is a bad influence is beyond me."

"Unless you're thinking along the similar lines as a quarter of the student body," Hermione said, "that a Muggleborn should not date the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Not a very nice opinion for the Leader of the Light to have," Harry said, with a smirk.

Dumbledore merely smiled at Harry.

"If you're going to expel us, do it, old man," Harry said, "I guarantee we'll get a letter from Beauxbatons tomorrow. And if you just expel her and not me, I'll drop out and leave you to the backlash of the Boy-Who-Lived leaving Great Britain. Imagine what would happen when Voldemort returned and the Chosen One wasn't there to defeat him."

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "Interesting choice of words, Harry."

"It is Lord Potter to you, old man," Harry said.

"Would you really leave the school your parents wanted you to go to?" Dumbledore asked. "Would you truly leave Great Britain to the horrors of a Dark Lord."

"You defeated one already, sir," Harry said, "You can do it again. As for my parents, sir. I wish I knew what they wanted for me. I don't though, so I make my own choices and hope they're proud of me."

"It seems we are at a standstill, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, "What would you want if it meant you were to remain at Hogwarts instead of go to Beauxbatons next year?"

"Hermione and I get to move into the Lord's Quarters for the remainder of our stay at Hogwarts – starting tonight," Harry said, "And if we want a few others to move in with us because we feel they are at risk elsewhere, we have permission to do so. Also, you leave me, Hermione and my friends alone unless it concerns education."

Dumbledore stared at Harry for several moments. "You have a deal, Lord Potter. I'll need a list of your friends."

"When they agree to move into the Lord's Quarters," Harry sad, "I will tell you."

"Agreed," Dumbledore said, "Professor McGonagall will meet you in the Gryffindor Common Room half-an-hour after dinner. Gather your belongings and she will escort you to the Lord's Quarters."

"Alright," Harry said, "Is there anything else you want from us or can we leave?"

"The two of you can leave," Dumbledore said.

Harry and Hermione said farewell, then made their way back into the corridor.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, when they were far away from the office, "We never discussed going to Beauxbatons."

"I know that, he doesn't," Harry said, "It was reverse psychology. We got exactly what we wanted free of charge."

Hermione giggled then wrapped her arms around his neck.

"God I love you so much," she said, and kissed him deeply.

Nothing else was said for a few minutes. Neither cared they were standing in the middle of a corridor.

* * *

_(Later that evening...)_

Amelia stepped into Interrogation Room C and found Severus Snape sitting at a table with two chairs. Kingsley Shacklebolt and another Auror stood on either side of the room. Amelia sat down in the empty chair and stared at Severus for a moment' then she removed his wand from her pocket and set it on the table.

"I spoke with Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge earlier today," she said, "He is willing to grant leniency. Five years in Azkaban if you give enough useful information. If you do not... a one-way trip through the Veil of Death."

"Five years sounds fine with me," Severus said.

"Shacklebolt, remove the magic-block from his bindings," Amelia said, "Bailey, train your wand on him. Severus, you will be giving an Honor Vow that you will speak honestly."

"No Veritaserum?" Severus asked.

"Only if you don't cooperate," Amelia said, "Then I'll stuff it down your throat, force you to talk, then push you through the Veil myself."

Severus nodded once then picked up his wand. Kingsley removed the enchantment, then trained his wand on Severus.

"I, Severus Tobias Snape," Severus said, "vow on my Honor to speak honestly to all questions Amelia Susan Bones asks of me. If I lie, may my magic be stolen from my body, and be forced to live a Squib the rest of my days. So mote it be! _Lumos!_"

The tip of his wand shone brightly. Amelia snatched the wand back from him.

"We'll see at the end of the session if you're a Squib or not," Amelia said, then looked at the Aurors, "Reset the enchantments, then the two of you may leave."

Kingsley flourished his wand toward Snape and the bindings around the prisoner's wrists shone blue. Then the two Aurors walked out of the room. Amelia removed a pad of parchment, a Dicta Quill and ink from her robes, then tore off the section of questions and set the Quill on the empty note pad.

"It is seven-fifteen on the evening of the eighth of June," Amelia said, as the quill began to write by itself. "Interrogation Room C. Interrogator: Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Prisoner is Severus Tobias Snape. Prisoner has taken an Honor Vow to answer all questions honestly. Minister of Magic Fudge will grant leniency of five years in Azkaban if Prisoner gives quality information, and the Veil of Death if Prisoner does not. A Dicta Quill is being used to pen the transcript of the Interrogation."

Once the Quill stopped, Amelia looked at Severus who stared back at her.

"Earlier this afternoon, when I entered Albus Dumbledore's office," she said, "You and Albus Dumbledore were in the middle of a conversation. What were the pair of you talking about?"

"Albus had learned of the new romantic relationship between Harry Potter and Hermione Granger," Severus said, "And he disapproved of it."

"Why would their relationship be any of his business?" Amelia asked, "Of yours?"

"I hardly care what happens between the brats unless it affects me," Severus said, "Albus, however – he did not approve. He said it wasn't in his plans. You asked me why I was in that office. He wanted me to brew Amortentia – Love Potions. He never mentioned anything like this to me before. I am under the impression this new romance was entirely unexpected."

"Who were the Love Potions supposed to be for?" Amelia asked.

"Potter's would be keyed to Ginevra Weasley," Severus said, "Granger keyed to Ron Weasley."

"Were you going to accept the task of brewing the Potions?" Amelia asked.

"If I wanted to remain under Albus' protection I would have had to," Severus said, "Besides... if I didn't do it, he has another probable supplier."

"Who?" Amelia asked.

"Molly Weasley," Severus said, "She is one of his more trusted... confidants, I suppose is the right word. Actually Molly would probably be the best choice to brew the Potions. All Potter and Granger would have to do is accept an invitation to the Burrow, have a meal with a drink dosed with Amortentia – and Dumbledore gets what he wants."

"Do you believe Ronald or Ginny Weasley would have gone along with it?" Amelia asked.

"Ginny... possibly," Severus said, "Ron... absolutely. He is about as far under Dumbledore's thumb as I was."

"Explain," Amelia said.

"He is Dumbledore's spy when it comes to Potter," Severus said, "Other students call Potter, Granger and Weasley the Golden Trio. Weasley is merely playing a role as their friend and getting paid in Galleons and good grades to do it. As long as he gives Dumbledore's good information, that is. It was Dumbledore's instruction for Weasley to befriend Potter. The boy is a dunderhead, but a good actor."

Amelia made a mental note to begin investigations on Molly and Ron Weasley, then moved on with her next question.

"When did you become a Death Eater?" Amelia asked.

"In the summer of 1978 after finishing my education," Severus said, "Though I had been 'in the club', as they say, for two years prior after attending a Junior Death Eater Recruitment meeting with a few other teenagers of all ages.

"Describe the day you received the Dark Mark," Amelia said.

"The Dark Lord and a group of Death Eaters had just returned to our Headquarters after a successful attack on a Muggle shopping center," Severus said, "Back then that specific group had been the Senior Circle. They brought several female hostages back with them – girls, teens, women. Several would be temporary sex-slaves as rewards to the Senior Circle for a job well done. The rest... well, they were for the recruits who were earning the Mark that evening. The girl chosen for my ceremony was about fifteen or sixteen. Never got her name, but one of the Death Eaters called her Lily. She had red hair, so I don't know if the bastard was just playing with my emotions as a test of faith or something..."

Amelia listened as Severus described in detail the rape and following murder by Killing Curse of the teenage Muggle. Then he described the ritual when he received his mark.

"How long were you in Voldemort's service before you started working for Dumbledore as a spy?" Amelia asked.

"Two years maybe less," Severus said, "One cold January evening in 1980, I was having a drink in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade and went up to the second floor to use the bathroom. On my way back, I heard the sound of a women apparently struggling or having a fit or something. When I came to the door of the room she was in, I heard her speak. It was Sybil Trelawney and she was making a Prophecy. _ The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... _That is all I heard before Aberforth Dumbledore yanked me from the door before throwing me out of the pub."

Amelia's eyes widened. "Do you know the rest of the Prophecy? Is there more?"

"There is more," Severus said, "Albus knows it. He was interviewing Trelawney for the Divination Post the night she made the Prophecy. He never told me the rest of the words."

"What did you do with the information?" Amelia asked.

"Made the worst mistake in my life," Severus said, "Told the Prophecy to the Dark Lord in hopes that I would be in his Senior Circle. That was, indeed, my reward. A few months later, Neville Longbottom was born, then Harry Potter. The Dark Lord decided Potter was the Child of the Prophecy. He wanted to kill Potter... he wanted to kill James and Lily. I went to Dumbledore begging him to save them... to protect them all. I became his spy that night. Halloween of 1981... the night Lily died... was the night I stopped being a Death Eater and started plotting the Dark Lord's death."

"So Voldemort isn't dead?" Amelia asked; it had been a running theory of hers for some time.

"The Dark Mark means allegiance," Severus said, "The Dark Lord expects allegiance. If the Dark Lord were to die, I expect the Dark Mark's enchantment would either make me a Squib or kill me outright. The Dark Lord would see it as his final punishment for failing to protect him. Albus thinks the Dark Lord is hiding. Albania, Bulgaria, Transylvania... could be anywhere. But he is alive... he is merely a leech at the moment."

Over the next hour, the interrogation continued. Severus named names of Death Eaters. Names of witches and wizards who were free due to the Imperius Defense, but were loyal to the Dark Lord. He named names who were key members of the Ministry of Magic. Wizengamot, Auror Department, DMLE, and so on and so forth.

Finally, Amelia had three final questions for him.

"Is Dumbledore responsible for Hermione Granger's attempted murder on Halloween of 1991?" Amelia asked.

"Yes," Severus said, "He used the Imperius Curse on her, sending her to that bathroom where she remained for several hours."

"What are Dumbledore's ultimate plans for Harry Potter?" Amelia asked.

"He expects Potter to die whilst fighting the Dark Lord," Severus said, "When the Dark Lord is weak after his battle with Potter, Dumbledore will kill him, taking the glory for himself."

"Do you believe Albus Dumbledore is a Dark Lord?" Amelia asked.

"Borderline," Severus said. "He walks the line between both Light and Dark. There is no Grey for him. The wizard who he defeated in the most famous battle of the age – the Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald? Albus knew him when they were in their youth. They were best friends and lovers. Take that however you will."

Amelia turned up her nose at that. She pointed her wand at the bindings then gave Snape back his wand. He lit it up with Lumos Charm revealing his honesty in all answers. She placed the enchantments on the bindings again.

"Quill, take note that Severus Snape has performed magic so he has kept his Vow," she said, "This concludes the Interrogation. I will recommend a five year stint in Azkaban. Thank you for your cooperation."

She stood, collected the items, and walked out of the room. She nodded to Kingsley and he stepped into the room. As she walked away, her mind was on the interrogation. She had several investigations to begin. Molly Weasley... possibly her youngest son and daughter. And all those Death Eaters, some of whom were bigwigs in the Ministry!

But the one investigation she wanted to do, she was being held back on. The thought made her shudder. Albus Dumbledore, a possible Dark Lord, had been given a Minister's pardon for a year!

Amelia shivered. It was going to be a hell of a year.

* * *

**So... yeah. A lot happened in this one. Hope you liked it!**

**Next Chapter: Harry and Hermione move into the Lord's Quarters, and meet Dora. Also, the announcement and news of Severus' arrest and resignation. And the Goblins come to Hogwarts.**


	10. Announcements, Articles and Arrivals

**Chapter 10**  
**Announcements, Articles and Arrivals**

Harry and Hermione were cuddled up in front of the fireplace in the Common Room after dinner, as they waited for Professor McGonagall. They had just finished up packing their belongings, which were now in the Undetectable Extension Bag Harry had purchased earlier that afternoon, for easy transport. It was strange to think that this would be their last time in the Gryffindor Common Room, at least as residents.

But they had discussed it and decided it was necessary. Mostly it was so they would be able to avoid Ron easier during the next four years, but there were several other reasons as well. When Harry's three Betrothed joined them, it would be the best way to get to know the girls – they were going to be a permanent fixture in each other's lives in the future after all. Also, the privacy would give Harry and Hermione a chance to focus on advanced studies. Once class resumed next term, the two time-travelers would be dealing with things they had already learned once before. Advanced studies would remedy the boredom. Also they could focus on changing the future for the better.

Both Dumbledore and Snape were not in attendance during dinner, and it was noticeable to all. However, none of the Professors gave any indication to their absence. This meant that it was either unimportant, or the staff didn't want to make it seem as important as it might have been. Both Harry and Hermione idly wondered if their absence had something to do with Madam Bones' visit. Sure, Harry and Hermione _had _seen the Headmaster that afternoon, but both didn't feel that the meeting was cause for the Headmaster's absence from dinner. Dumbledore never missed dinner with the students, unless he was away from the school. So maybe that was why he had been absent.

"Attention everyone, may I have your attention please?" McGonagall's voice rang out, over the buzzing of student conversation; everyone went silent and turned to McGonagall, where she stood near the portrait hole."There will be an important announcement tomorrow morning at breakfast during the eight-o-clock hour. While attendance isn't mandatory, I am sure it is an announcement you will want to hear. Mr. Potter, Miss Granger? Please come with me."

Harry and Hermione stood, then followed McGonagall out through the portrait hole.

"I do not know how you were able to convince the Headmaster to place you in the private Lord's Quarters," McGonagall said, as the three walked through the seventh floor corridors, "But he seemed quite eager to give you permission. I was rather perplexed that the Headmaster gave permission to _both _ of you, until he informed me that you, Mr. Potter, recently named Miss Granger as a Vassal of House Potter."

"Yes, ma'am, that is correct," Harry said.

"The Headmaster also explained to me that Hermione may not be the only guest in the Lord's Quarters?" McGonagall asked. "However, he could not tell me who those other guests would be."

"Because we chose not to tell him," Hermione said, "To Harry, Professor Dumbledore is nothing more than the Headmaster of the school he attends. He doesn't need to know that Harry is betrothed to three girls."

"So you will be inviting your three Betrothed to join you in the Lord's Quarters, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked.

"Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, and Luna Lovegood," Harry said, "As well as Daphne's friend, Tracy Davis. The reason for the latter is quite personal to Tracy, and we have no wish to reveal such things. Since this is the last week of term, I doubt we will be inviting the girls to the Lord's Quarters until next term begins."

"I see," McGonagall said, "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, as I said, I was rather perplexed that the Headmaster gave you permission. Be that as it may, this is a privilege to reside in the Lord's Quarters. I remember what it was like to be a teenager. I know what can happen when a teenage boy, and five teenage girls live together in one area. I expect you to be on your best behavior whilst living in the Lord's Quarters, or such privileges will be revoked and you will return to your dormitories."

"We promise, ma'am," Hermione said; Harry nodded in agreement.

"Good," McGonagall said, "Mr. Potter, even though Miss Granger is underage, she is your Vassal. School and Magical law states that she does not need permission from her parents to join you in the Lord's Quarters. But I will expect permission from the parents and guardians of the other ladies before they take up residence in the Lord's Quarters. Whether you wish to speak to them yourselves, or leave it to me, is your choice."

"I think I will speak to them myself," Harry said.

"Very well," McGonagall said.

As they made their way onto the fourth floor of the castle, McGonagall began discussing the residential Quarters.

"The fourth floor is where the Lord, Lady and Guest Quarters are located," she explained, "Due to the lack of classrooms on this floor, you'll find that mostly this floor is never tread upon, unless by curious students wishing to explore the castle. However, that will change next year. Whilst I have no wish to ruin the surprise for the two of you, I will say this: next year we will be hosting an event in which there will be several guests coming to stay for a long period of time. So this floor will be crowded next year by many. However, the Lord and Lady Quarters are on the opposite end of the level, far from the Guest Quarters, so I doubt there will be too much interference.

"The residential Quarters are some of the more magical rooms in the castle. The two of you and your future guests will be able to live comfortably. The Lord's Quarters you are going to reside in can hold up to a dozen rooms in one compact area. For now, there will be the main Common Room, two bedrooms and two bathrooms. But as you bring in your guests, you can request more bedrooms, and they will – to use a crude explanation – pop into existence."

"So... sort of like the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked.

"I should have known the two of you had discovered that room in your time here," McGonagall said, with a smile, "It is one of Hogwarts' better kept secrets. I am not even sure the Headmaster knows exactly what it does. He once spoke to me about finding a bathroom on the seventh floor he had never seen before. When he told me he needed to use a bathroom badly, I realized exactly what room he spoke of."

"It is quite the amazing room," Hermione said.

Soon McGonagall and the two teens arrived at a large portrait. Harry was rather amused that the portrait was of a long-haired Rapunzel in her towering prison. Only the top of the tower and the window were in the portrait, showing Rapunzel and her residence inside.

"This portrait is rather different than most of those here in the castle," McGonagall said, "You'll see why. Ah... Rapunzel?"

"What?!" Rapunzel yelled, "I can barely hear you. You need to yell over the wind!"

Hermione snickered and Harry rolled his eyes. Apparently you had to yell to talk to the portrait. Even though Harry nor Hermione could hear the wind, it seemed there was a lot in the portrait.

McGonagall cleared her throat and said loudly. "Rapunzel, these students have been given permission to reside in the residence beyond your portrait."

"Wonderful!" Rapunzel yelled, "I get so lonely up here! How many bedrooms are required at the moment?"

"Two," McGonagall said, loudly, "Though that may change in the future."

"Er... does this portrait require a password?" Harry asked, "Rather risky to yell out the password..."

"What did the handsome boy say?!" Rapunzel asked.

"Don't fear, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said, "Once you reach this area, silencing charms are activated for privacy. What will the password be?"

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Hermione said, loudly.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes, then yelled. "Very original, Miss! You may enter!"

The portrait swung open, revealing the doorway beyond. McGonagall led Harry and Hermione into the Lord's Quarters. The Common Room was a bit similar to the Gryffindor Common Room. It was built as a perfect circle. On the right side of the room was a sitting area near a cozy-looking fireplace. Harry could immediately picture romantic evenings, cuddling up on the couch with Hermione. On the left side was a study area, with a few tables, chairs and a bookcase; oddly enough, there was only one book on the shelf. Built into the walls around the room were four doors.

"The two closest doors to us," McGonagall said, "are the boys' and girls' lavatories. Those on the other side of the room are two bedrooms. As more guests appear, more bedrooms will appear as well. Miss Granger, you'll be pleased to know that the bookshelf is connected to the Hogwarts library. As you can see, there is only one book at the moment. This book is a list of all books in the Hogwarts library. Simply request a title and the book will appear. However, the books in the Restricted Section are not in this book, and must be checked out with permission from a Professor and Madam Pince. To return a book to the library, simply place it back on the bookshelf."

"I'm sure we'll get a lot of use out of that," Hermione said.

"I would expect so," McGonagall said, "I have a staff meeting to attend, so I will leave and let you get yourselves situated. Please be in attendance tomorrow morning in the eight-o-clock hour for breakfast. The announcement is quite important, but that is all I can say until then. Good evening."

She turned and walked out of the room. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other.

"Strange," Harry said, "She made no mention of whether or not we were allowed in each other's bedrooms. Either we're actually welcome into each other's rooms, or she forgot to tell us."

"I think she might have forgotten," Hermione said, "She seemed awfully distracted. Did you notice she never said Dumbledore's name once? She only referred to him as 'the Headmaster'."

"I did notice," Harry said, "That _was_ quite strange. Wonder if it has anything to do with the announcement, or Dumbledore's and Snape's absence from dinner."

"Probably," Hermione said.

"So... should we assume we have permission to enter each other's bedroom until she says otherwise?" Harry asked.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "And just what would you do whilst in my bedroom, Lord Potter?"

Harry blushed profusely. "Practice Occlumency?"

"Oh," Hermione said, "I thought you meant snog, cuddle and sleep together. I – er – mean sleeping obviously."

Harry stammered. "Maybe not right now."

"I completely agree," Hermione said, "Besides, the sitting room over there looks quite comfortable and romantic for snogging and cuddling up together. Shall we unpack and see exactly how comfortable?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Harry said, grinning.

* * *

Ten minutes after she left Harry and Hermione in their new Quarters, Minerva McGonagall walked into the staff room on the second floor. Every staff member were in attendance aside from Dumbledore, Madam Hooch and Argus Filch. The rest of the staff were seated at the long table.

"Thank you for your attendance," Minerva said, as she took a seat at the end of the table, "Since everyone is here, we can begin."

"Where are Albus and Severus?" Pomona Sprout asked, "I thought they would be here."

"I did not invite Albus to the meeting," Minerva said, "Simply because he will be the subject of much of our discussion. Severus Snape resigned from his post as of this afternoon."

There were several gasps of shock around the table.

"Why did Severus resign?" Filius Flitwick asked.

"I think we are all aware of his unfortunate past," Minerva said, "Madam Amelia Bones arrested him this afternoon. He willingly agreed to go with her, and resigned from his post."

"But I thought Severus was under Professor Dumbledore's protection?" Rubeus Hagrid asked.

"All will be explained, Hagrid," Minerva said. "Where to begin? Ah, I'll begin with some news regarding a couple of the students. As many of you are aware, earlier this term, Hermione Granger dropped out of Divination -"

"I hope you do not blame that on me!" Sybil Trelawney said, "She does not understand the subject of Divination. I was looking forward to having her in my class, given that she was known as the brightest witch of her age. I was quite disappointed in her."

"I do not believe the fault can be placed on her shoulders nor yours, Sybil," Minerva said, "Miss Granger simply thinks outside the box. She also has decided to drop out of Muggle Studies."

"How unfortunate!" Charity Burbage said, "She was a favorite student of mine! Did she give a reason?"

"She does not approve of the curriculum set by the Ministry of Magic," Minerva said. "I explained to her why you simply cannot teach more modern-era topics, but she still decided to drop the subject. Also, Harry Potter has decided to drop out of Divination as well."

"But... why?!" Sybil asked, dramatically.

"He says you predict his death once a week, Sybil," Minerva said.

"I cannot help if it he has a tragic destiny about him!" Sybil said. "You should hear those mules in the Forbidden Forest talk. They think he is going to die in there!"

"He was lucky to survive a couple years ago," Hagrid said, "I made the mistake of letting him go off on his own with Draco Malfoy. He was nearly killed by Quirrel and I should have been there with him. And I don't want to hear nothin' bad bout the Centaurs, Sybil. Firenze saved Harry's life, he did!"

"It was not your fault, Hagrid," Minerva said, "I should have never let Argus Filch decide what type of detention to give those kids. Sending first years off into the Forbidden Forest... what was he thinking? I am now really understanding what Madam Bones meant earlier this afternoon. I'll get to that soon enough. Bathsheba, Septima, Mr. Potter has decided to attend your classes starting next year. Miss Granger will be assisting him this summer when it comes to your subjects, and both promise me that Mr. Potter will pass his exams at the start of term and be able to join his fellow fourth years."

"With Miss Granger helping him," Babbling said, "Who can doubt the boy?"

"I'll be happy to have him in my class," Vector said.

"Excellent," Minerva said, "Now, for the reason behind this meeting. Fellow staff of Hogwarts, earlier this afternoon, Madam Amelia Bones met with myself, Albus and Severus. Before the end of the meeting, Madam Bones called us all incompetent."

There were murmurs and bursts of outrage from the staff. McGonagall raised her hands to silence the staff.

"Whilst her words her somewhat rude," Minerva said, "She speaks the truth. Last year, during the Chamber of Secrets incident, we all made some very grave mistakes. Who here has knowledge in Magical Creatures of all types?"

Hagrid raised a large hand immediately. Minerva, Filius, and a few other Professors did as well.

"Then why did it take a thirteen year old second-year student to discover that the creature behind the attacks was a Basilisk?" Minerva asked, "Students, a ghost, and Filch's cat were Petrified. Roosters were killed off by the culprit behind the attack, and the spiders were fleeing the forest. The Chamber of Secrets is known as Salazar Slytherin's creation – his favorite animals were serpents. Giving all that, how were we unable to discover the identity of the creature?"

"Now that ya mention it," Hagrid said, "I can honestly say I don't know how I didn't see it before."

"We were all undoubtedly foolish," Filius said. "And I can understand why Madam Bones finds us incompetent."

"There is something else Madam Bones mentioned," Minerva said, "If we had contacted her after Mrs. Norris was found Petrified, I believe we could have solved the mystery immediately. Aurors would have been called here, Unspeakables would have discovered the creature's identity, and roosters would have been brought in to crow if there were any signs of movement."

"It does seem like the proper way to handle the situation," Aurora Sinistra said, "So why did Albus not make it so?"

"I cannot say," Minerva said, "But it wasn't the first mistake he made in recent years. Hagrid, Filius, Pomona, I am sure you all recall the meeting in the summer of 1991 where Albus asked us to prepare some defenses for the third floor corridor. He told us they would guard a priceless artifact. None of us questioned this. None of us asked why a school full of children was being used as a place to hold such a priceless artifact."

Several Professors looked quite ashamed.

"None of us seemed to do a good job of putting together enchantments and defenses," Minerva continued, "Three first year students were able to get past our defenses. They shouldn't have been able to get through the initial door at all! Apparently it was opened with a Basic Unlocking Charm! Then there was the fact that the location was announced at the Welcoming Feast! Madam Bones said it best... when Albus announced that the third floor corridor was forbidden, he basically gave an open invitation for curious students to take a peek! If he wanted to keep a secret, he should not have announced the news to the whole castle!"

"So... why did he?" Poppy Pomfrey asked.

"Madam Bones basically accused Albus of luring Harry Potter to the forbidden third corridor," Minerva said, "Because Albus rewarded Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley for getting past the enchantments, Amelia said that Albus was encouraging Harry when he should have reprimanded him. She said that Albus was training Harry for something."

"Why would she accuse Professor Dumbledore of doing that?" Hagrid asked, "He'd never do something like that!"

"It wasn't her only accusation," Minerva said. "She accused of endangering all the students in one go, and I agree with this one. Remember Halloween of '91, when Professor Quirrel ran into the Great Hall screaming about a troll in the dungeon? He sent the students to their Common Rooms..."

"Merlin!" Sprout gasped, "My badgers and the Slytherins might have encountered the troll if it really had been there! Their Common Rooms are in the dungeons!"

"They should have remained in the Great Hall!" Flitwick said, "That troll could have been anywhere!"

"Indeed," Minerva said. "And that wasn't the last of Madam Bones' accusations. And this one was proven by Albus himself. As all of you were aware, in September, Albus and I gave permission to Hermione Granger to use a Time Turner in order to take all subjects open to her."

"I understand the Unspeakables gave you permission to allow that," Filius said.

"Indeed," Minerva said, "Albus and I gave her strict guidelines. She could only use the Time Turner for classes, never in the extracurricular sense. A few evenings ago, Albus went too far when it came to giving Miss Granger permission. He asked Miss Granger and Mr. Potter to go back in time, in order to save Sirius Black from his fate, as well as Buckbeak the Hippogriff."

Hagrid gasped. "Harry and Hermione saved Buckbeak?"

"Indeed they did," Minerva said.

"Albus gave an illegal, impossible task to two third-year students?" Filius asked, "But... why?"

"I am as perplexed as you are," Minerva said. "Amelia wanted to arrest Albus due to this. However, as you know, Hogwarts is a sovereign nation, and Amelia needed permission from Minister Fudge to arrest him. Severus was arrested, because he chose to willingly go with Amelia. Amelia said that the moment Albus walks off Hogwarts grounds, he is a wanted man. The truth is... I don't think Albus has any intention of leaving Hogwarts at all."

The staff had different emotions on their faces, including shock, sadness and anger.

"I nearly resigned from my post today," Minerva said, "But I came to a realization. I need to be here to protect the students. My eyes were truly opened today. Amelia Bones described us all as incompetent. I truly believe Albus Dumbledore is an incompetent Headmaster. But I don't think it will be an easy task to remove the man from his post as Headmaster. He does not give in easily. He wouldn't leave this castle, knowing that he may be arrested if doing so."

"I don't think Cornelius Fudge is going to give permission to Madam Bones to arrest Albus any time soon, Minerva," Cuthbert Binns said, "We all know that the Triwizard Tournament is being held here next school year. Such an event hasn't happened in a very long time. If Albus was arrested, can you imagine the media backlash? The ICW would move the Tournament to Beauxbatons or Durmstrang. Hogwarts may not even take part in the Tournament if that happened. The ICW would replace us with Salem Witches Institute or another school!"

"Cornelius Fudge would keep Albus in his position if it meant that the Triwizard Tournament would take place in Britain," Filius said, sighing. "From a Ministry standpoint, the tournament means big news for the British wizarding society. I expect we'll be hearing soon from Madam Bones, informing us that the charges against Albus have been dropped."

"I believe so as well," Minerva said, "With that said, does anyone wish to announce their resignation?" Nobody spoke up. Minerva smiled. "Thank you all. We need to be here for the students. Tomorrow morning at breakfast, we will announce Severus' resignation. Aurora, would you take over as Head of Slytherin?"

"I'd be honored, Minerva," Aurora said.

"Excellent," Minerva said. "One last announcement. Harry Potter recently obtained his Lordship as Head of his House. He also has chosen to make Hermione Granger a Vassal. They are now residing in one of the Lord's Quarters. Mr. Potter has also mentioned that he will be inviting a few other students to join him in his new Quarters next term, for different reasons that I have no wish to speak of this evening. Mr. Potter promises he will get permission from these students' parents or guardians this summer. Once the students are given permission, I will reveal their identities. Is there any questions, comments or concerns regarding this, any of the topics tonight, or anything else?"

"What do we tell the students about Albus?" Poppy asked.

"Nothing," Minerva said, "Word would get out to their parents, and we'd have to deal with the aftermath. If Minister Fudge pardons Albus, and we say something different to the students, it would create a lot of backlash. For now we will remain silent, especially toward Albus. We don't need to cause drama that may simply come back to bite us in the end. Any more questions? No? Very well. I think that will conclude the evening's meeting. Thank you for your attendance."

* * *

The following morning, Harry awoke with a smile as he stared at the ceiling of his new bedroom. The bed was quite comfortable – more-so than the four-poster bed in the dormitories. It was also twice as large as the beds in the dormitories. Also, there was a distinct silence and peaceful serenity during his slumber. Whilst Neville, Seamus and Dean were never as loud as Ron when it came to snoring, they still snored a bit. So the silence was quite welcoming. The actual bedroom wasn't too special or out of the ordinary but there was a nice view of the lake outside the one window in the room.

A few minutes after he woke, he walked out of his bedroom, dressed in comfortable, casual weekend wear. Hermione was sitting on the couch, reading the book on Lords, Ladies and Houses she had also been reading the previous day. She smiled as she turned to him.

"Finally!" she said, "It is nearly eight-o-clock! I was about to wake you up. We need to be in the Great Hall for Professor McGonagall's announcement soon."

"Mandatory attendance on a Sunday should be illegal," Harry said, walking across the room, "I would have liked to sleep in a bit longer. My bed is so comfortable."

"So is mine," Hermione said, "It was an excellent idea to move in here. You should try the shower in your bathroom. If it is as good as mine, you might lose yourself in there for an hour."

"Well, according to you, we don't have an hour to lose," Harry said, "So I will test the shower later today."

"Probably a good idea," Hermione said, "Keeper Ragnok and his team of Goblins will be here today to harvest the Basilisk."

Harry nodded. "Right. Almost forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me."

He leaned toward her and kissed her softly. Hermione murmured against his lips.

"What was that, love?" Harry said, backing away briefly, "Didn't catch that."

"I said we really need to go to the Great Hall," Hermione said.

"In a moment," Harry said, "I'm not finished."

Hermione squeaked as Harry pulled her to her feet, then she chuckled against his lips when he pressed them back on hers. She murmured contentedly, then returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Harry," Hermione said, softly, as she backed away.

"I love you too," Harry said, then took one of her hands from around his neck and grasped it in his, "Shall we?"

Hermione nodded and the pair left the comfortable privacy of the Lord's Quarters. Ten minutes later, as they made their way into the Great Hall, they noticed it was quite full of students. There were queues of students at the end of each of the House Tables.

"Today's editions of the Daily Prophet are complimentary," Professor McGonagall said, as she handed out editions of the newspaper to Gryffindors. "All questions can wait until I make my announcement in a few minutes."

Harry and Hermione each took a copy of the newspaper, then sat down in their usual spot at the Gryffindor Table. There were two large articles on the front page that immediately caught Harry's eye. The first had a large picture of Sirius Black and his parents at James and Lily's wedding. Harry immediately began to read the article.

**MINISTER OF MAGIC FUDGE GRANTS SIRIUS BLACK  
TRIAL; DEMENTORS SENT BACK TO AZKABAN!**

**In a controversial decision made on Saturday, Minister**  
**of Magic Cornelius Fudge has granted Sirius Black a**  
**trial to take place in front of the Wizengamot ****two  
weeks from Saturday.**

**Sirius Black was sentenced to Azkaban twelve-and-a-**  
**half years ago for betraying James and Lily Potter, and**  
**for the murders of Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles.**  
**He escaped Azkaban – the first person ever to do so –**  
**this previous summer and has been a fugitive ever since.**

**Minister Fudge had this to say Saturday afternoon:**

**"Evidence has been brought forward that questions the**  
**guilt of Sirius Black. Evidence that was not presented**  
**before Black was sentenced to Azkaban. I am offering**  
**Sirius Black a temporary pardon, and I request that he**  
**give himself over to the Ministry of Magic. I give a**  
**Minister's guarantee that this is not a trick to capture Black.**  
**The evidence brought forward is quite shocking and could**  
**very well turn over the guilty verdict made twelve-and-half**  
**years ago."**

**Minister Fudge did not specify exactly what the evidence was.**  
**However, he also revealed the shocking information that Black**  
**did not receive a trial before he was sentenced to Azkaban.**  
**Fudge informed us that he had no part in the initial sentencing**  
**so many years ago. He was quick to throw the blame to his**  
**predecessor, Millicent Bagnold, as well as former DMLE Head**  
**– and current Head of the Department for International Magical**  
**Cooperation – Bartemius Crouch, Senior.**

**Minister Fudge has also stated that he ordered the Dementors**  
**of Azkaban to be sent back to their post at the fortress prison.**  
**Several Dementors had been stationed at Hogwarts School of**  
**Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as various magical locations**  
**in Britain for the past several months. Until yesterday, Fudge**  
**had given the Dementors the order to administer the Kiss on**  
**sight to Sirius Black.**

**Whatever evidence was found concerning Sirius Black seems to**  
**be quite compelling. Could Sirius Black actually be an innocent**  
**man? Was an innocent man a prisoner in Azkaban all these years?**  
**We will all find out in two weeks after Sirius Black faces the entire**  
**Wizengamot in a criminal trial.**

**Bartemius Crouch was unavailable for comment.**

Harry grinned when he finished the first article.

"Well, I guess I don't need to inform Sirius about a pending trial," Harry said, "Madam Bones came through with her promise."

"You should still write to him, Harry," Hermione said, "You did promise after all."

"Right," Harry said, "I'll write a letter later today."

He then looked at the second article. The picture below the large bold headline was of Severus Snape being escorted through the crowded Atrium of the Ministry. His wrists were bound, and his face held no emotion. He was being escorted by Amelia Bones, Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish. Harry began to read the article.

**SEVERUS SNAPE ARRESTED AFTER WILLINGLY  
GIVING SELF UP; RESIGNS FROM LONG-TIME  
POSITION OF POTIONS MASTER AT HOGWARTS**

**The numerous wizards and witches walking about the**  
**Atrium of the Ministry of Magic Saturday afternoon were**  
**witness to a shocking scene (depicted above). Long time**  
**Potions Master Severus Snape was escorted through the**  
**Atrium by Madam Amelia Bones, Head of the Department**  
**of Magical Law Enforcements and two Aurors, Kingsley**  
**Shacklebolt and John Dawlish.**

**Hours after this scene, Madam Amelia Bones had this to say:**

**"Severus Snape willingly gave himself to DMLE custody**  
**whilst at Hogwarts [Saturday afternoon]. He immediately**  
**gave his resignation to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and**  
**left the castle in my custody. After a lengthy interrogation,**  
**in which he gave up some key information in return for leniency,**  
**Mr. Snape was sentenced to five years in Azkaban, as was the**  
**agreement made by Minister Fudge."**

**Severus Snape was one of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's top**  
**Death Eaters during the Great War. Following the Great War,**  
**Albus Dumbledore defended Snape, saying that Snape had**  
**redeemed himself, shortly before the Hogwarts Headmaster**  
**assigned him as the Potions Master. Though Dumbledore has**  
**repeatedly defended Snape multiple times in the past years,**  
**many questioned the Headmaster's decision to allow a well**  
**known – and apparently redeemed? – Death Eater to teach**  
**the children of the wizarding world.**

**Over the years, several of Snape's former students have**  
**expressed a dislike for the former Potions Master, and have even**  
**accused the man of being the reason for the lack of new Aurors,**  
**Healers and other key career positions. After all, a NEWT in**  
**Potions is required to be considered for most of these careers.**

**Madam Amelia Bones made no comment of what information**  
**Severus Snape revealed, but whatever it was, it was enough to**  
**grant a light sentencing for some major crimes. It will be interesting**  
**in the future to find out what happens in the aftermath of the**  
**interrogation.**

**Albus Dumbledore and other former co-workers of Severus Snape**  
**were unavailable for comment.**

Harry was quite shocked about this news. He knew Madam Bones had gone to Hogwarts to speak to Dumbledore and Snape, but he never expected her to walk away with one of the men in custody! And the fact that Snape apparently willingly gave himself up? That shocked him the most. He would never think Snape would do something like that. Why had Snape given himself up so willingly? What was there for the former Slytherin to gain from this?

Harry wondered how Dumbledore felt about this. After all, he had just lost the one available spy he had in the Death Eater ranks. He gazed up toward the Head Table in search for Dumbledore, but the Headmaster was not at his usual throne. Perhaps the Headmaster was attempting to reverse the sentencing?

Harry also wondered exactly what information Snape had given up. Did he reveal the identities of the Death Eaters? If so, did that mean Amelia, the Aurors, and the DMLE were on the prowl? How would this interfere with his plans to take down the Death Eaters this summer? Worse, what if the article made the Death Eaters more paranoid? It would make them harder to take down. Harry grimaced. This would take some thought.

Harry was not the only shocked person in the room. The Great Hall was filled with the buzzing of murmurs and whispers. Many had expressions of shock on their faces. Several at the Slytherin table, including Draco Malfoy and his usual crew looked angry. Daphne Greengrass had no expression on her face. Perhaps she was hiding her reaction in case it would get her in trouble with her housemates?

Three sharp dings made Harry's head turn toward the staff table, and he wasn't the only one. Nearly all students were looking toward Professor McGonagall who had just stood up from her chair after tapping her spoon against her glass.

"I had hoped I would be the one to give you this news," McGonagall said, "I should have realized it would be in the Daily Prophet today. Everything you read about Severus Snape is true. He did resign from his post as Potions Master yesterday afternoon. He did willingly give himself up to Amelia Bones. I was present for the entire event."

There were more murmurs and mutterings. There were also a few whoops of joy from students who did not like Snape at all. McGonagall shot sparks from her wand, getting everyone's attention and silence.

"I promise that by September, there will be a new Potions Master in Hogwarts," McGonagall said. "Astronomy Professor, Aurora Sinistra has accepted the role of Head of Slytherin House."

Several Slytherins clapped loudly, as did many other students. Draco and a few others simply looked angry. Apparently they realized that Sinistra wasn't Snape – she wouldn't let the Slytherins get away with things Snape did.

"To the Slytherin House," McGonagall said, turning toward the Slytherin table, "I know you are upset at this news. But it does not condone any violent reactions. There will be no excuse for violence caused due to this. If you need someone to talk to about this, any one of the staff would be welcome to assist you. That goes for all of you."

"Was Snape a Death Eater all this time or was he really redeemed?" a Gryffindor sixth year asked.

"Headmaster Dumbledore has stood by Mr. Snape all these years," McGonagall said, "Whether that answers your question is up to you, and the rest of you as well. Mr. Snape apparently decided he needed to atone for his past mistakes, so he gave himself up to Ministry custody. As a Gryffindor, I think that is real bravery in and of itself."

Harry and Hermione started to clap, and while a few Gryffindors looked at them oddly, others started clapping as well, as did several other students. McGonagall smiled in Harry and Hermione's direction then sat down allowing the students to get back to their meals.

A few minutes later, Mr. Filch walked into the Great Hall, and strode down the aisle toward the Head Table. He spoke softly to Professor McGonagall, who stood up. She left the table, then walked across the Hall and over to Harry and Hermione.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger," she said, "If you would come with me, please."

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other shrugged, then stood up. They followed McGonagall out of the Great Hall. When they arrived in the Entrance Hall, they found Madam Amelia Bones standing nearby. Nymphadora Tonks was standing next to her.

"Lord Potter, Miss Granger," Amelia said, "This is Senior Cadet Auror Nymphadora Tonks."

"Wotcher!" Tonks said, "Call me Dora or Tonks. Either is fine with me. Don't like my first name much."

"Cadet Tonks has been given special assignment," Amelia said, "She is to be your personal guard for the foreseeable future. At first, it was merely for you, Lord Potter. But I decided it was probably best if she looked after both of you."

"Er... why?" Harry asked.

"I have reason to believe the two of you may be at risk," Amelia said, "I have no wish to scare you. This is mostly a precaution. Cadet Tonks will explain it in full soon enough."

"Well – er – it is nice to meet you, Tonks," Harry said, and Hermione echoed him.

"I've seen the two of you from a distance during my final year here," Tonks said, "You were just in your first year. Buit I originally met you, Harry, on the day you were born. Your parents were good friends of my own, and I suppose they were considered my friends as well, even though I was five or six years old. Your parents used to babysit me when I was young."

Harry's eyes widened. He did not know that. Why had she never told him that?

"So... I guess you have good stories about my parents?" Harry asked.

"And you as a little baby too," Tonks said, "A few of them. We'll have loads of fun, I think."

"Well, this is most certainly unexpected," a familiar voice said.

Harry looked over his shoulder. Albus Dumbledore was walking down the stairs toward the Hall.

"Madam Bones, a pleasure to see you again," he said, "Miss Tonks, how wonderful to see a former student return."

"Cadet Tonks has been assigned as Harry and Hermione's personal guard, Dumbledore," Amelia said.

"On whose authority?" Albus asked.

"My own," Amelia said, "You'll find there is no law against that – so don't pull that sovereign nation bull on me. I have reason to believe that Harry and Hermione are in possible danger, and whilst it isn't serious enough to move them somewhere secure, I believe that they could do with a guard. Cadet Tonks has agreed to spend her last year of training in the field."

"I am under the impression that Senior Cadets experience important training," Albus said, "Are you willing to give up such experience in order to guard a couple of students, Cadet Tonks?"

"Yes, sir," Tonks said, "I believe I have learned enough to get the job done. Besides, older Aurors cannot give Harry and Hermione what I can."

"And what is that?" Albus asked.

"Friendship and companionship," Tonks said, "As a recent student, and someone who was once close to Harry and his parents many years ago, I think he will enjoy my company. Besides, my skills can be highly useful if need be."

Her body morphed and shrunk so now she appeared to be a thirteen or fourteen year old witch.

"I could appear to be a simple friend of theirs," she said, "just hanging about with them."

"I think that is a swell idea," Amelia said, "Next year, Cadet Tonks will join Harry and Hermione undercover as a fellow fourth-year student. She'll be an exchange student. We'll work out the details later, Dumbledore."

"Of course," Albus said. "Do you have another reason to be here other than to escort Cadet Tonks to the castle?"

"If you're asking whether or not I am here to place you under arrest," Amelia said, "The unfortunate answer is no. Minister Fudge has given you a pardon until the end of next June. Apparently he feels you are needed here next year. After that... well, we'll see what happens."

"Indeed we will," Albus said.

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other. It seemed that Amelia had wanted to arrest Dumbledore as well as Snape, but Minister Fudge wouldn't allow it. Suddenly, the entrance doors opened and Hagrid stepped through.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid said, "I was just about to come see you. A few Goblins from Gringotts are here. They're making their way up to the castle as we speak. They chose to walk instead of use the carriages. Apparently they don't like Thestrals and carriages. Who knew?"

"Goblins?" Albus asked, "Why are they all the way out here? Never mind, I'll find out myself."

"That's just it, sir," Hagrid said, "The lead Goblin, his name is Ragnok, I think. He said he is here to see Harry and Hermione, not you, sir. Something about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Harry turned to Dumbledore, and nearly laughed out loud. The expression on the old man's face was priceless!

* * *

**Yes, I did decide to end it there. Sorry!**

**One of my reviewers commented about the possibility of Tonks going undercover. It wasn't in my plans, but I decided it could work out. For now, she'll be herself, then next term she'll be an undercover student. Nobody will be any the wiser that it is actually her when she's undercover.**

**Next chapter: Dumbledore tries to manipulate things to work out the way he wants, and Harry, Hermione, Tonks, Amelia and the Goblins – and definitely NOT Dumbledore – goes down to the Chamber of Secrets. And more!**

**Good news! I got a new keyboard! YAY! This chapter was so much easier to write than the last few. Hopefully there are no apostrophes instead of commas now, like I have found in rereads of previous chapters. So annoying to find those! All because the apostrophe and quotation were in the wrong place on the small keyboard.**


	11. Return To The Chamber

**Chapter 11  
Return To The Chamber**

* * *

_Previously on "The Vanishing Cabinet of Time..._

_"Oh, Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid said, "I was just about to come see you. A few Goblins from Gringotts are here. They're making their way up to the castle as we speak. They chose to walk instead of use the carriages. Apparently they don't like Thestrals and carriages. Who knew?"_

_"Goblins?" Albus asked, "Why are they all the way out here? Never mind, I'll find out myself."_

_"That's just it, sir," Hagrid said, "The lead Goblin, his name is Ragnok, I think. He said he is here to see Harry and Hermione, not you, sir. Something about the Chamber of Secrets?"_

_Harry turned to Dumbledore, and nearly laughed out loud. The expression on the old man's face was priceless!_

* * *

When Dumbledore's face started to turn the same purple color that his Uncle Vernon's face usually turned when the man was getting angry, Harry had to turn away from the Headmaster. He hoped the old man wouldn't see that he was doing his best not to smile or laugh.

"Mister – I mean – Lord Potter?" Dumbledore asked, his voice struggling to keep calm, "Miss Granger? Do you know why the Goblins are here today?"

"Hagrid said their visit has to do with the Chamber of Secrets, sir," Harry said, "Aside from that, I am sorry, sir. I have no clue. I am just as surprised as you are."

"I agree with Harry, sir," Hermione said.

It was quite obvious that Dumbledore was angry, and he was trying to do his best to hide such anger. And he was failing miserably. Obviously Dumbledore knew Harry and Hermione were lying, but as long as they looked away from the Headmaster, he could not achieve silent Legilimency. And even though he was apparently pardoned by the Minister of Magic, it was obviously a bad idea to do a vocal Legilimens in the vicinity of the Head of the DMLE, a Cadet Auror, and the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. Harry imagined that Dumbledore was doing his best to hold his composure. After all, revealing that he was angry at the Boy-Who-Lived would not be a very good idea.

"I see," Dumbledore said, "Perhaps it is best if I meet with Ragnok and his fellow Goblins first. Minerva? Would you please escort Mist – Lord Potter and Miss Granger back into the Great Hall? Or better yet, I am sure Cadet Tonks will be staying in their new Quarters. Perhaps you could guide them there?"

"I cannot agree to that, Albus," Minerva said, "If the Goblins of Gringotts wish to speak to Lord Potter and Miss Granger, then I think it would be best not to offend them."

"As the school's Headmaster," Dumbledore said, "It is my decision whether or not to allow Goblins to speak to my students."

"Headmaster?" Hermione asked, "May I remind you that Harry is Emancipated and I am his Vassal. Therefore, we are allowed to make our own decisions without the opinion of our Headmaster."

"Indeed," Harry said, as he glanced back at Dumbledore, "After all, this has nothing to do with our education. I am sure a fantastic mind like yours has not forgotten our conversation yesterday? Or do I need to start learning French. Hermione, do you know if anything like the Babel Fish exists in the wizarding world?"

"I could easily look that up, Harry," Hermione said, smiling.

Harry noticed Dumbledore look quite flustered, and he smiled before he turned away from the old man.

"I don't think that is truly necessary, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, "Hagrid? Would you please return to the Grounds and accompany the Goblins inside?"

Hagrid turned and opened the large doors again. Harry heard a familiar voice, and Ragnok and eight other Goblins stepped into the Entrance Hall. Two of the Goblins wore golden armor, and had swords attached to their belts. The other six Goblins – well – Harry had never once met a scientist or a lab-worker, but he was sure these Goblins matched the usual cliched idea of scientists, just with Goblin figures. They carried duffel bags, briefcases and suitcases.

"Master Goblin," Dumbledore said, obviously doing his best to keep respect in his tone, "I, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of this grand school, welcome you and yours."

Ragnok raised his eyebrows as he looked at Dumbledore, grunted and turned to Harry and Hermione.

"Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "Miss Granger, it is an honor to see you again."

"Keeper Ragnok," Harry said, "I wasn't expecting you until this afternoon."

"Well, as a few of you humans like to say," Ragnok said, "The early bird gets the worm. Or the snake, as the case may be."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, obviously attempting to turn the Goblins' attention toward him.

"Keeper... Ragnok, was it?" Dumbledore asked.

"It is, Dumbledore," Ragnok said, "Don't fool around with me. I know you recognize me. I have not changed since the day you witnessed James and Lily's Will being penned."

"May I ask why you and your associates are here?" Dumbledore asked; it seemed he had no desire to talk about the subject of the Potter Will.

"Lord Potter did not tell you?" Ragnok said, with a large grin, "My associates and I are here to accompany Lord Potter, Miss Granger and any party he sees fit to your legendary Chamber of Secrets, where we will harvest the Basilisk which lay dead in the Chamber."

"I appreciate the offer," Dumbledore said, "But I believe I can hire a few good men to do the work."

"Be that as it may," Ragnok said, "That is not up to you."

"The Basilisk lays in the castle which I am in charge of," Dumbledore said.

"Indeed," Ragnok said, "But you were not the person to kill the beast. Lord Potter was, and therefore, by law according to your Ministry, he gets to claim all profits. Or am I to understand that Lord Potter lied to me when he told me the wondrous tale of how he slayed the Basilisk?"

"No, he did not lie," Dumbledore said, "But -"

"Very well then," Ragnok said, "Thank you for allowing us to be here today. We'll only be a few hours, then we'll be off. You may go, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"Now see here!" Dumbledore growled, "You cannot just excuse me –!"

"Lord Potter?" Ragnok interrupted, "Am I right to assume that you have no wish for Albus Dumbledore to take part in this event?"

"That is correct, Keeper Ragnok," Harry said.

"Am I right to assume that you will give no percentage of the profits to Albus Dumbledore?" Ragnok said.

"That is also correct, Keeper Ragnok," Harry said, "I may give a percentage to Hogwarts itself, but Professor Dumbledore will have no sole right to any of that money. I have plans for a good percentage of the profit to go out to those victims of the Basilisk."

"A bold idea," Ragnok said, then turned to the Headmaster, "There, Dumbledore. As you see, you have no need to be here. If you wish for an adult human to accompany your students to the Chamber, then I am sure someone else can do the job."

"I would love to," Amelia said, "and I am sure Cadet Tonks will accompany us as well?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tonks said.

"You may go, Dumbledore," Ragnok said, "I am sure you have other needs to attend to."

"I will be seeing you soon, Mister Potter," Dumbledore said, as he turned and walked back toward the stairs.

"It is Lord Potter to you," Harry said, "Do I need to write a letter to Olympe Maxime? I do hope any future conversation we have has only to do with education."

"I'll be contacting you later, Dumbledore," Ragnok said, "In regards to some business Gringotts wishes to take care of."

Dumbledore paused in his step briefly, and froze for a moment. Whether it was because of Harry's statement or Ragnok's message, Harry was not sure. Perhaps both. Dumbledore continued his journey up the stairs and vanished into the Grand Staircase.

"That was entertaining," Harry said, "Keeper Ragnok? Do you mind if I allow two – no – three more people to come with us? There is a good reason for them to be there - if they accept, that is."

"The more the merrier," Ragnok said.

Harry turned to McGonagall. "Would you please ask Luna Lovegood, Colin Creevey, and... yes, Ginny Weasley to come out here please?"

"You're asking me to allow you to take three second-years under the school?" McGonagall asked.

"I think Luna would like to see the Basilisk, and perhaps write an article for the Quibbler," Harry said, "Colin Creevey can make excellent use of his camera down there. And Ginny – well – if she agrees to go, I think it would be a good idea so she can finally have some closure to the horrific events she had to go through. After all, I don't recall Ginny ever experiencing true closure. Are there wizarding versions of psychiatrists? Besides, with Madam Bones, Cadet Tonks, and two Goblin Security who look like they could take down an army of Death Eaters by themselves -" The two security Goblins cheered in Gobbledygook, "- which it appears they can... I think we'll all be quite safe."

McGonagall stared at Harry for a moment. Then she nodded and walked into the Great Hall. Harry turned to Hagrid.

"I would invite you, Hagrid," Harry said, "But I am not entirely sure you'll fit in the tunnels on the way to the Chamber. No offense meant."

Hagrid chortled. "None taken, Harry. Promise me you'll show me those pictures though."

"I promise," Harry said.

Hagrid smiled. "Come see me before you're off on the Hogwarts Express then. I'd like to talk to you about a certain winged friend of ours."

Harry realized he meant Buckbeak and wondered how Hagrid knew he had anything to do with the hippogriff's escape.

"Will do, Hagrid," Harry said.

Hagrid smiled again, then turned and walked back out onto the Grounds. Professor McGonagall walked back into the Entrance Hall, followed by a dreamy-eyed Luna Lovegood, an excitable Colin Creevey and a confused Ginny Weasley.

"Harry?" Ginny asked, blushing red as she looked at him, then the others in the Hall, "What is going on?"

"How would the three of you like to accompany us to the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked, "Keeper Ragnok and his team are going down there to harvest the Basilisk and have invited us along. I thought perhaps, Luna, you would like to write an article for the Quibbler about it, and Colin – well, we could use your camera, if you have it with you?"

"That would be lovely," Luna said. "I always bring along a notebook of parchment and writing material, in case I find a Snorcack in the wild and need to write about it!"

"A Basilisk?" Colin asked, "The one you killed last year! I heard it was over one-hundred feet long. I don't remember much from when it Petrified me. But... yeah, I have my camera!"

"Actually it was probably fifty or sixty feet long," Harry said, "We'll find out soon enough. Ginny?"

Harry caught a frightened look on Ginny's face, before she tried her best to hide it with bravery.

"Would you promise to be by my side the entire time?" Ginny asked.

Harry turned to Hermione, and she smiled and nodded. Harry turned back to Ginny.

"Of course, Ginny," Harry said, "Hermione and I won't leave your side unless the need calls for it. We understand how hard this will be for you."

Ginny then nodded. "I will go with you."

"Very well," McGonagall said, "Madam Bones and Cadet Tonks have agreed to accompany all of you. Please do be careful. I don't want to have to write home about anything unfortunate. Keep in sight of Madam Bones and Cadet Tonks at all times."

The five students gave vocal promises, and McGonagall glanced at them all for a moment, before returning to the Great Hall. Keeper Ragnok then introduced himself and his associates. Once everyone was introduced, Harry lead the large group through the castle and into Myrtle's bathroom. Moaning Myrtle met them as they entered.

"Oh!" Myrtle said, as she floated down to the ground in front of Harry. "Hello, Harry, Hermione, Luna. It is lovely to see you all again. What are you all doing here?"

"We're going into the Chamber of Secrets to harvest the Basilisk," Harry said. "Myrtle, I was wondering and hoped you could help me. Do you have any living family?"

Myrtle nodded, gloomily. "A much younger brother, about seven years my junior. He was a squib, so he never got to come here. John Jacob Henderson. I do miss him deeply. I don't even think he knows I am still here."

"I will look into it, dear," Amelia said, "perhaps if we find him, he can visit you."

"I would like that," Myrtle said. "Have fun down there."

"Myrtle?" Ginny asked, "I apologize for throwing a book at you last year. I was... not myself."

"Long forgotten," Myrtle said.

She gave a rare smile then floated away.

"She mentioned you by name, Luna?" Hermione asked, as they walked with Harry across the bathroom and toward the sinks.

"Oh, yes," Luna said, "Myrtle and I are good friends. I met her my first day here and I visit her at least three times a week. She's very lonely. Though she did mention she had visitors. I take it that was you?"

"Yeah, that was us," Hermione said, then cleared her throat, and changed the subject, obviously trying to steer the discussion away from illegally brewed potions, "Ready, Harry?"

Harry nodded and glanced at the sinks. §_I command you to open.§_

Several in the area - Hermione, Ginny, Colin, Tonks and even Amelia - jumped. It might have been because of Harry's use of Parseltongue, or the fact that the sinks began to move around and form the entrance to the sewers below. Or perhaps both.

"An excellent show, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, as he stepped forward and looked at the large hole.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, "How did you get down there last time?"

"We slid down the pipe," Harry said.

"I imagine it was quite filthy," Hermione said, "Could you, perhaps, request stairs?"

"Why didn't I think of that before?" Harry asked, then glanced at the piping, _§I request stairs to allow easier access into the sewers below.§_

There was a rather loud, long scraping sound and soon a stone stairwell appeared.

"That is quite creepy, Harry," Tonks said, referring to the Parseltongue.

"You humans and your superstitions," Ragnok said, "Goblins who can speak to serpents are worshiped in the Goblin Nation. Why, Parseltongue is even used to speak to Dragons! Those who work with our security dragons must be required to know Parseltongue. If you humans weren't afraid of the language, Parseltongue speakers could make a fortune as Dragon handlers and you would have far more knowledge about Dragons then you already do. Just because a few so-called Dark wizards have spoken the language over the centuries does not mean it is dangerous!"

"I agree wholeheartedly, Keeper Ragnok," Luna said. "Daddy believes the same as you do."

"Your father sounds like a smart man, Miss Lovegood," Ragnok said, "Axehandle, take the lead! Thrash, remain at the tail end with the harvesters."

"I will go last," Amelia said, "I need to put up a few enchantments so unwelcome guests do not try to follow us."

Nobody needed to ask who she meant. Everyone knew she referred to Albus Dumbledore.

One of the security Goblins strode forward and started his descent down the pipe's stairway. Then Ragnok followed, and Harry led Hermione, Ginny and Tonks. The journey into the sewers took five minutes longer than it would have if they slid down the pipe, but it was also a much more cleaner way of descending. As they reached the bottom, Hermione, Ginny and Tonks each expressed their disgust at the sight of mice, rat and vole corpses. As the rest of the group joined them, Harry motioned them down the correct pathway. Even though, to him, it had been nearly five years since he had been here last, he still remembered everything about his time in the sewers and Chamber.

The group walked forward and finally emerged at the large opening where the rocky ceiling had collapsed.

"This is where Gilderoy Lockhart tried to Obliviate me and Ron," Harry said, "The coward wanted to return to the surface without Ginny, and take the credit for all of this, so he could write another book. He made the mistake of using Ron's broken wand, which backfired, Obliviating himself. Of course, the aftermath caused this collapse. And if I remember correctly, there might be a snake skin around here somewhere..."

"Found it," one of the harvesters grunted, "If this skin is this large, then I already can tell that this trip will be worth it. Snake skin that has been shed may not be as tough as the skin on the actual beast, but this could make for some nice material for armor or clothing. Not as indestructible as the flesh we'll find on the actual creature, but still good enough."

The harvester seemed to be the leader of his group, because he ordered a couple of his crew to collect the skin. Meanwhile, Harry and the remainder of the group made their way through the rest of the journey toward the large iron door that was decorated with serpents.

"Beyond this door lies the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said.

"All hope abandon ye who enter here," Hermione muttered.

"A wonderful phrase," Ragnok said, "We wanted to place it on the front doors of our bank, but we thought it might scare away customers."

Harry snickered, then cleared his throat. He spoke the same phrase that opened the passageway beneath the sinks in Myrtle's bathroom. Harry backed away as the large door opened, revealing the passageway beyond. Axehandle and Ragnok led the group as Harry, Hermione and the rest followed behind them. Harry heard several gasps behind him from the various humans as the group took in the sights of the Chamber. One by one, they made their way down the ladder and onto the stone floor of the Chamber.

"Old Sally took his obsession with snakes to extremes, did he not?" Tonks asked.

"I don't know what I pictured when I thought about this Chamber," Hermione said, "But I don't think I could ever dream of this -"

She shrieked briefly when she finally laid eyes upon the Basilisk corpse at the other end of the Chamber, and grasped Harry in a hug, hiding her face in his shirt. Harry chuckled lightly and comforted his girlfriend. Beside them, Ginny looked quite pale. Her figure trembled and she sat down on the damp floor, and inhaled and exhaled. Colin, meanwhile, was snapping pictures with his camera around the Chamber, then he squeaked when his eyes found the dead serpent at the other end, and he sat down next to Ginny.

"Good Merlin," Amelia said, as she looked at the Basilisk, "That is – well that's -"

"Ginormous is the word you're looking for, Amy," Tonks said.

"It is rather big," Luna said, with a tone of discussing the weather.

"A magnificent specimen!" the lead harvester said – Harry remembered his name was Carver; Carver barked out at his crew in Gobbledygook, who started across the Chamber, toward the Basilisk, "We will have to get exact measurements, but this beauty, she must be at least seventy feet long. Possibly the largest of her kind ever in recorded history. An amazing feat, Lord Potter. You'll have to tell us all about it sometime so we can record the tale in the tales of lore. Not all stories are about Goblins after all!"

"I'd be honored to," Harry said.

"Excellent," Carver said, "Keeper Ragnok tells me you're due for a visit to Gringotts before the end of the month. Perhaps when you do, we can discuss the tale, as well as the profits you'll gain from this claim."

"You said something about making armor from the hide?" Harry asked.

"Indeed," Carver said, "Armor like this would be nigh-on indestructible and impenetrable except for some of your nastiest curses, such as the Killing Curse. Would you be interested in such a thing? I believe our armorers at Gringotts would fit you with a few of these outfits."

"Would we be able to get half-a-dozen outfits?" Harry asked; thinking of Hermione, his three betrothed and Tonks. "I'd take the costs from my share of the profits."

"I think it would be possible, but I'd have to check with the armorers," Carver said, "We'll discuss it when we meet again."

"I look forward to it," Harry said. "I'll send a letter to you and Keeper Ragnok when I have the specific date that I'll be at Gringotts."

Carver nodded, then turned and walked toward the Basilisk and started barking out orders in Gobbledygook.

"If you want some pictures, Colin," Tonks said, "You better do it now. Looks like they're preparing the beast for harvest."

Colin stood, and like a brave Gryffindor he was, walked across the Chamber and started taking pictures of the Basilisk.

"You alright, Hermione?" Harry asked. "The Basilisk is dead, believe me. It will never harm you again."

Hermione blew out a breath and backed away from his chest.

"It isn't so much the Basilisk, Harry," Hermione said, "It is the thought of you battling it. I never – _never_ truly understood what you must have gone through. You were twelve years old, for Merlin's sake! You could have died and I – I never would have –"

Harry leaned down and pecked her on the lips. "I'm here. I'm alive. I promise I will always be here for you."

"I know you will," Hermione said, "I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry said.

He kissed her again. Then he recalled they were not alone, and backed away before the kiss could linger. He looked around at the group. Amelia was giving them privacy as she looked around the Chamber. Tonks was watching them, and grinning like a fool. Luna was looking at them with a dreamy smile, and Ginny, still where she had sat down, was ignoring them and staring at the Basilisk.

"You two are just too cute," Tonks said.

Harry and Hermione blushed profusely and backed away from each other. Tonks conjured a few cushions and the group of humans sat down on them, and watched as the harvester Goblins walk circles around the dead Basilisk as they studied it.

"Golly, Harry!" Colin said, as he sat down on the cushions, "Facing that snake must have been terrifying. I am so glad I got pictures of it."

"Pretty terrifying, yeah," Harry said.

"It isn't quite as big as I thought it would be," Luna commented, "Definitely nowhere near as large as Nessie."

"Nessie?" Hermione asked, "The Loch Ness Sea Serpent? Isn't she a myth?"

"Only to Muggles," Luna said, "And only because she loves teasing the Muggles. It is her favorite pastime. She likes to emerge from the water when there are Muggles around, and right when the Muggles see her, she submerges again."

"So... you've seen her?" Hermione asked.

"Three times," Luna said, "Three different trips. She's a good friend. She's very playful and mischievous. And she loves it when you rub her tongue. I might introduce you to her sometime."

Harry opened his mouth to respond, then closed it and thought better of it. Instead he looked at Ginny.

"You alright, Ginny?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Ginny said, then slowly glanced toward Harry; she was so distracted she forgot to blush, "Oh. I suppose so. I never saw the Basilisk when it was alive. Of course, most of the time I couldn't remember anything about what happened. I just can't believe – how did nobody die?"

"We were very lucky," Hermione said. "Colin was lucky he had his camera. Justin was lucky Nearly- Headless Nick was in the area. Penny and I -"

"Are alive thanks to your brilliance," Harry said, "You knew to use mirrors at every corner."

"The entire thing should never have happened," Amelia muttered. "The moment Filch's cat was Petrified, I should have been notified. Even if I didn't figure out that Ginny was possessed, my team could have worked our magic – so to speak – and nobody would have been Petrified. Dumbledore has much to answer for and that damnable Fudge won't let me do my job."

"Only for a year, it sounds like, boss," Tonks said. "Then we can deal with the man. I don't like him much either. I still remember the scared first and second years clutching onto me and my fellow year-mates in Hufflepuff, because they feared we would encounter the troll whilst going through the dungeons to get to our Common Room. The nightmares those kids must have had, simply because Dumbledore told us to go back to our Common Rooms instead of remain in the Great Hall. It is weird, you know. Before you came to school, Harry, nothing too exciting happened, aside from Quidditch and the occasional duel in the hallway. No trolls, or Basilisks or whatever else you faced. You're a magnet for trouble, mate."

"Starting to regret being our bodyguard, Tonks?" Harry asked.

"Ask me when my job is done," Tonks muttered as she gazed at the Basilisk. "And hope I don't kill you myself."

Harry snickered, then laughed out loud. Hermione joined in, followed by the others. Tonks only rolled her eyes and chuckled.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore strode through the second floor corridors, as he made his way toward that which students had coined as "Moaning Myrtle's bathroom". By now, he figured Harry, Hermione, Madam Bones, and the rest of their group were in the Chamber of Secrets. It would only be too easy for him to make his way through the sewers under the school and into the Chamber. Surely, the group had left the entrance to the Chamber opened. They needed to get out, didn't they?

Albus was still infuriated at the defiance that Harry, Hermione and the Goblin, Ragnok, had shown him. Why couldn't they give him the respect he deserved?! He was in charge of the school – how dare they not allow him to join them in the Chamber! It was his phoenix who had brought the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor to the Chamber of Secrets, when Harry needed it the most. True, the phoenix had done that on his own accord – as to why the bird had defied him, Albus still wasn't quite sure. Still, Fawkes was his phoenix, so of course, Harry had assumed that he, Albus, had sent the bird to Harry. And instead of thanking him by allowing him to join them, Harry tossed him aside like he was yesterday's rubbish!

Albus didn't know what was going on with the boy. What made him so defiant all of a sudden? He seemed a lot more confident and sure of himself. A few weeks ago, Harry never would have talked back. Was this due to his new romance with Hermione Granger? Or did it have something to do with his newly discovered innocent Godfather, who he could consider family. Perhaps it was both. Whatever it was, Albus knew it needed to change.

But how? Sirius would surely be freed in two weeks. Albus knew exactly what kind of evidence had been discovered: the Godfather Ritual. Sirius' innocence would surely be cemented because of it. It was one of the reasons Dumbledore had hoped that Harry would never discover his parents' Will. Albus wished he could silence Sirius before the trial, but he knew it was not to be. Sirius would likely not show up to the Ministry until the day of the trial. If he showed his face beforehand, it was likely he would be placed in Ministry custody until the trial. Thanks to Sirius' reunion with freedom, he would never allow that to happen.

Then there was Hermione Granger. She was now a Vassal of House Potter, and was probably protected by the Potter family magic.

Albus wondered if Harry knew of his family's magic yet. Perhaps not. After all, it was unlikely he had found the Potter Family Grimoire yet. Albus had tried to search for it himself in the ruins of the cottage in Godric's Hollow, but it was not there. So it was either in the Potter Family Vault or one of the other Potter properties, which Albus had no idea where those locations were. Probably due to the Potter Family magic.

On top of Miss Granger's Vassalage, she and Harry would also be protected by Senior Cadet Nymphadora Tonks. It was easy to see that he, Albus Dumbledore, was one of the threats Madam Bones had discussed. Even in the rank of Senior Cadet, Nymphadora Tonks was a tough witch. Aside from the fact that clumsiness plagued her, she had a lot of skill and talent. Especially that Metamorphmagus talent of hers. Coming up with the idea of changing herself to appear Harry and Hermione's age, and become an undercover student, was a stroke of genius. Tonks could be around Harry and Hermione all the time, especially since they would likely include her in the guest list for the Lord's Quarters.

Ah, the Lord's Quarters. Albus couldn't believe he had given into that so easily. Only after Harry and Hermione had left his office, did he realize they had played him. Reverse psychology was their game. True, he certainly did believe they were true to their word and would change schools in a heartbeat if he crossed them. But it was the blackmail that impressed him. And he had fallen for it. But it was a necessary evil. He needed Harry Potter for his end-game. And if Hermione Granger had to stick her nose in the entire time, then so be it. There were only two paths for her at the end of it all. Heartbreak or an early death. Possibly both. Both sounded good. In the end, she would have regret her decision she made the previous day. She should have accepted expulsion and gone to Beauxbatons without Harry. Alas, even geniuses make stupid decisions once in a while.

Besides, Albus had another trick up his sleeve when it came to the Lord's Quarters. There was a good reason he had given in so easily. He knew Ron Weasley was no longer going to be a useful minion, especially since his days as Potter's best friend had come to an end. So Albus needed another way of getting the information he wanted. And he had found it, all thanks to Harry and Hermione.

Albus strode into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and smiled when he saw that the entrance to the Chamber was still open. He started across the room.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Headmaster," Myrtle said.

Albus ignored the ghost, then charged toward the opening. As soon as he got about five feet from the hole, he felt a force push against him, and he was thrown back across the bathroom and landed with a thud on the stone floor.

"That nice lady – Bones, I think her name was? – put up some enchantments blocking anyone from going in without her permission," Myrtle said, as she floated over Albus and looked at him, "I tried to tell you, but you didn't listen. Not surprising though... not very many people tend to listen to moping little Myrtle."

Albus grumbled and stood up. He flourished his wand toward the opening, then walked forward again, only to be thrown across the bathroom again. He growled as he sat up. Yet again, Amelia Bones had defied him!

Well, he was going to have none of it. He would sit there until they returned. No matter how long they would be down there, he would wait.

And then he would give them all a piece of his mind!

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the Chamber, the five students sat on the cushions and watched as the Goblins began to harvest the Basilisk. Tonks and Amelia Bones were walking around the Chamber, exploring different sections. At the moment, two of the harvesters and Ragnok were working on the fangs. A gross squelching sound was heard as each fang was removed from the beast's jaw. The Goblins were being especially careful during the process of removing each one. The other four harvesters were flourishing their bony hands around the Goblin's body. Two of them chanted in Gobbledygook, and Harry turned away just as the fleshy skin of the Basilisk began to peel off the corpse in large sections. He didn't know what was worse – the sound of the peeling flesh, or the sounds of disgust coming from those around him.

Ragnok strode across the Chamber, back over to Harry.

"Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "I believe you requested a couple of the fangs for future use? Will this do?"

Harry looked at the three fangs in Ragnok's hands. They were the size of one of Harry's feet.

"That will do well," Harry said, "Thank you."

"I have placed enchantments on the fangs, so they will not be dangerous to you," Ragnok said, "When you wish to use the fangs for whatever reason, simply tap your wand on them and the poison will be activated."

"Handy," Harry said, "Thank you again."

Harry took the fangs from Ragnok, and the Goblin returned to the Basilisk.

"What are you going to do with those, Harry?" Colin asked.

"There's more of them, aren't there?" Ginny asked, "More of those... things like the diary?"

Harry turned to Ginny. "What do you know about them?"

"Nothing, really," Ginny said, "I could just feel the danger in Tom's diary, which was why I threw it away. But I could still hear his voice in my head even though I didn't have the diary. He commanded me to take the diary back and that is why I took it from your dorm. If he had something as dangerous as that diary, I wondered if there were more like it."

"There are more out there," Harry said.

"Ginny, have you told anyone else about this?" Hermione asked.

"I... don't think so," Ginny said. "I thought I would have told Dumbledore. But I can't remember -"

Harry turned to Hermione, who was biting her lip. Harry could almost hear her thoughts. Ginny had indeed told Dumbledore and the Headmaster had Obliviated her of the discussion... but why not the knowledge of it? That was strange. One thing was sure though. It was apparent Dumbledore had known about the Horcruxes even now.

"So, Harry," Luna said, "It seems you'll get quite the fortune from claiming the Basilisk corpse. Any plans on what you'll do with the money?"

"I am giving a good percentage of it to the victims," Harry said, "Myrtle's brother, Mr. Filch since his cat can't take it, Justin, Penelope, Hermione, Colin and Ginny."

"Really?" Colin asked, "That is nice of you!"

"It is only fair since you were a victim and missed out on a lot of your first year," Harry said.

"You're giving a share to me?" Ginny asked.

"You were a victim, Ginny," Harry said, "Nothing more. None of this was your fault. You were a victim just like those who got Petrified."

"I... thanks," Ginny said, "Thanks a lot."

"Ginny?" Harry asked, "Did you ever get... treatment for what happened to you?"

"You mean psychological help?" Ginny asked; she didn't seem angry at the question, "Bill and Charlie both wanted me to go see a Mental Healer. But Mum refused, said it was too expensive. I suppose with my share, I can afford to go now."

"Will you?" Hermione asked.

Ginny frowned as turned and looked around the Chamber. Then she nodded.

"Yeah," she said, "I need to put this all behind me if I'm going to live a normal life."

"Wise decision, Ginny," Hermione said.

"Lord Potter?" Amelia asked, "Come here a moment."

Harry stood then turned back to Ginny. "I'll be back soon. I know I promised to keep you safe."

"I'll be fine," Ginny said.

Harry smiled, looked at Hermione who nodded for him to go, then he walked across the Chamber and over to Amelia, who was standing in front of the statue of Salazar Slytherin's head.

"Is this where the Basilisk came from?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, "The – er – whatever Tom Riddle's ghost was – he commanded the entrance to open, and the Basilisk came through its mouth."

"I think behind this wall is where the Basilisk's nest is," Amelia said, "I wonder if there are more shed snake skins in its nest."

"It is a possibility," Carver said, "Can you open it up, Lord Potter?"

Harry nodded then cleared his throat. _§Speak to me Salazar Slytherin. Greatest of the Hogwarts four.§_

Harry and Amelia backed up just as the large jaw of the statue opened revealing the mouth.

"Impressive," Carver said, "Looks big enough for Goblins to fit inside."

He said something in Gobbledygook to one of his crew, and one of the security guards. The three Goblins then crawled into the open mouth, which was a rather strange sight.

"Hey... Harry, boss?" Tonks said, "Come over here."

Harry turned and saw Tonks near a wall. He and Amelia walked over to her, and she pointed at some markings.

"That looks like writing," Tonks said, "but I can't decipher it."

"It is written in Parsel language," Harry said, "Let's see. _§He who speaks my language may find the treasures hidden here.§ _It is a clue or something. Perhaps the start of a treasure hunt – whoa!"

The wall began to change shape and soon formed an archway, much like the entrance to Diagon Alley. The room beyond the archway was pitch black. Harry looked at Tonks and Amelia.

"Shall we go inside?" he asked.

Amelia nodded, pointed her wand ahead of her, then walked forward.

Tonks sighed. "We better not regret this."

Harry snickered, cast a Lumos Charm, and walked into the room.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! Yes, I just did that. -malevolent cackles- What is in the room? Jewels? Knowledge? Nothing, because I could really be that cruel?! Danger... also because I could really be that cruel?! Find out next chapter!**

**Next chapter: The rest of the visit to the Chamber, another confrontation with Dumbledore, and more. Possibly a time-skip. I really want to get into the summer chapters soon.**

**ATTENTION: The Poll has closed! Results of Poll in Chapter 14!  
**


	12. Hidey-Holes, Hallows and Horcruxes

**Chapter 12  
Hidey-Holes, Hallows and Horcruxes**

* * *

_Previously on "The Vanishing Cabinet of Time..._

_The wall began to change shape and soon formed an archway, much like the entrance to Diagon Alley. The room beyond the archway was pitch black. Harry looked at Tonks and Amelia._

_"Shall we go inside?" he asked._

_Amelia nodded, pointed her wand ahead of her, then walked forward._

_Tonks sighed. "We better not regret this."_

_Harry snickered, cast a Lumos Charm, and walked into the room._

* * *

As Harry entered the new room, Amelia flourished her wand above her. Flames appeared on wall sconces, as well as a hearth across the room, giving Harry, Amelia and Tonks a better view at the room they had entered. It appeared to be an office of some kind. On the left side of the room was a wooden desk that resembled the one in Dumbledore's office, as well as a wooden chair that looked oddly comfortable. A bookcase stood near the desk. On the right side of the room, near the fireplace were two wooden rocking chairs. There was also a flimsy cot-like bed that reminded Harry of the one in his old cupboard at Number Four Privet Drive. Harry could not see Salazar Slytherin sleeping in a bed like that every day, and figured he had only slept in it when he didn't want to return to the surface. He likely spent days at a time down here, hiding from the other founders.

There was also another doorway on the opposite side of the room.

"Harry, remain still for a moment," Amelia said, "Knowing Salazar Slytherin, he might have laid some booby traps around."

"You really think any hexes and curses Old Sally lay around are still active after a thousand years?" Tonks asked.

"Perhaps," Amelia said, "Slytherin had one of the most brilliant, cunning and dangerous minds of all time, if legends are correct. Tread carefully and look for any traps."

As Amelia and Tonks began flourishing their wands around the room, checking for hexes, curses and traps, Harry glanced around at the room, from the position he stood in. He wondered if Tom Riddle had discovered this room. Then he realized, as he looked at the bookcase, that it was probably unlikely. There appeared to be several tomes and scrolls on the shelves. If Tom Riddle had found the room, he probably would have plundered everything inside.

"Find anything, Cadet?" Amelia asked.

"Nothing, boss," Tonks said.

"Me neither," Amelia said, "But I suppose Slytherin might have welcomed anyone into this room as long as they could speak Parseltongue. Feel free to look around, Harry. Cadet, check what is behind that door."

"It is likely just a thousand year old water closet," Tonks said, "Bet the smell is horrible! I am not entirely sure even witches and wizards knew the leisure of plumbing back then."

Harry snickered and walked over to the bookshelf. Meanwhile, Amelia was exploring the desk. Tonks opened the door and shone her lit wand into the room.

"Well, it isn't a water closet," Tonks said, "There are stairs going upwards. You know – I think we discovered the back door of the Chamber. Where do you reckon it goes?"

"We can find out when we're finished here," Amelia said.

"Alright," Tonks said, "Find anything good, Harry?"

"Tomes and scrolls," Harry said, "From the writing on the covers of the books, it appears they are written in Parselscript."

"The Unspeakables at the Department of Mysteries would give a lot of Galleons for all of that," Amelia said, "But it is your discovery, Harry. Do what you want with it."

"You're sure?" Harry asked, shocked.

"We wouldn't have found any of this if it wasn't for you," Amelia said. "I'm sure you can find a lot of information in those books."

"Did someone say books?" Hermione asked, then gasped, "Merlin, this is amazing!"

Harry looked over his shoulder and saw Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Colin.

"Should have known you'd follow us in here," Harry said.

"Well, Professor McGonagall did say we needed to keep in the eyesight of Amelia and Tonks," Hermione said, as she walked over to Harry; her eyes widened when she looked at the bookshelf, then she gingerly picked up a book and looked at it. "Parselscript, eh? Darn it. What knowledge there must be in these books! It would be fascinating to read them all."

"I could probably translate them all to English," Harry said.

"Ooh, brilliant idea!" Hermione said; she opened the book and turned the pages. "Harry? I think this might be a journal! It doesn't read like a book... seems to be entries and even a few drawings."

"Probably Slytherin's journal," Harry said; he looked at that book, then looked back at the shelf, where there were several like it, "and it seems there are more volumes as well."

"It could take years to translate all of this!" Hermione said. "If you were to translate them all, and publish them, you could make a load of Galleons."

"I'll consider it," Harry said.

"Hey, look at this!" Ginny said. "It was under the bed."

Harry and Hermione turned around. Ginny was on her knees near the bed, and was looking at what appeared to be a trunk or chest of some kind.

"Let me take a look at that," Tonks said, "Make sure there aren't any hexes on it. I imagine this is where Sally kept some of his treasures he mentioned outside on the wall."

"Find anything interesting, Madam Bones?" Harry asked.

"Seems like Slytherin used this desk simply to write notes and what-not," Amelia said, "All I can find is old parchment, quills, and inkwells that are dried up. The desk has a few scratches on it."

Harry raised his eyebrows as a thought crossed his mind, and he walked over to the desk. He glanced at the desk and found that the "scratches" were phrases in Parselscript.

"Seems like Slytherin used the desk as a notepad or something," Harry said, "There are phrases here."

"Can you translate them to English?" Hermione asked.

Harry studied the desk and read the words aloud. "Vanish. Time. Battle. Dark. There's one more. Light... maybe? Part of the word is scratched out. Sounds just like random words."

"Perhaps Salazar Slytherin was an author?" Luna suggested. "Maybe he was writing a story and these were brainstorming ideas."

"Maybe," Harry said, "Might find something out about it in his journals. Good reading material for the summer."

"Alright, now I am intrigued," Tonks said, "There are some rather dangerous curses and hexes on this chest. Nothing I can manage. I think we should hand this over to a Cursebreaker."

"My brother Bill is a Cursebreaker!" Ginny said, "I bet he would do it. I think he is coming home this summer to spend some time with the family."

"Then we'll look into it this summer," Harry said. "Wish I brought my Undetectable Extension Bag with me to carry all of this."

"Ooh, I have one with me," Tonks said, "Used it to pack up some clothes for my stay with you. We could put everything inside and take it out when we get to your Quarters."

"Good idea," Harry said.

"Let's pack everything up that is useful – the books and scrolls, and that trunk – and return to the main area for now," Amelia said, "We can see where those stairs lead when the harvesters are through with the Basilisk."

Harry agreed. He and Hermione collected the books and placed them in Tonks' bag, as well as the three Basilisk fangs Ragnok had given Harry. Then Tonks used a levitating charm to place the trunk inside. Then everyone returned to the main area of the Chamber. Carver, his fellow harvester, and the security guard had returned as well.

"Find anything, Carver?" Harry asked.

"Several more snake-skins of various sizes," Carver said, "Those that can't be used for armor and outfits might be useful as Potions ingredients."

"We uncovered several books and scrolls all written in Parselscript," Harry said. "Salazar Slytherin's journals amongst them."

"A priceless treasure!" Ragnok said, "May you find much knowledge."

"We also found what appears to be the back door of the Chamber," Amelia said, "I think we should exit through that way. I have reason to believe Albus Dumbledore may be waiting for us in the bathroom."

"Persistent old man, isn't he?" Tonks asked.

"Quite," Ragnok said, "Carver tells me we could be down here for a couple more hours or so, and I wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore waited that long in the bathroom."

"Why didn't Professor Dumbledore come along with us, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"If he did, do you really think he would have let me claim everything I found in that room back there?" Harry asked. "The answer is no. He'd claim it for himself, then hide it somewhere when he realizes he can't decipher it. All this possible knowledge, once again hidden from sight. No thanks. Aside from that, he would have also attempted, once again, to take his claim on the Basilisk, even though he had nothing to do with its death."

"Didn't he send Fawkes and the Sorting Hat down here?" Ginny asked.

"I am starting to suspect that Fawkes did that all on his own," Harry said.

"True," Hermione said. "After all, Dumbledore had no way of knowing that you had come down here, nor that you needed help."

"Precisely," Harry said. "To answer your question, Ginny. I suspect this Basilisk will amass a great fortune. I am sure Dumbledore wants to claim part, if not all of it. Hogwarts will get a percentage of the fortune, but it won't go anywhere near Dumbledore's pockets."

"We'll make sure of that, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "Count on it."

Over the next two hours, whilst the humans talked about random topics, the Goblins continued harvesting the Basilisk, and storing the various parts in different containers. At one point, they transferred several gallons of dark red blood in large plastic bottles. Now and again, Ragnok explained exactly what was going on with various tasks.

"You seem to know much about harvesting, Keeper Ragnok," Hermione commented at one point.

"When I was quite young – what you would refer to as your teenage and young adult years," Ragnok said, "I was in the harvesting business. Only for a few years, until my grandfather died. My father took my grandfather's post, and I took his as Vault Keeper. It was mostly out of respect for my father that I changed positions. He didn't think a harvester was a fine job for someone in my position."

"Your position?" Harry asked.

"I suppose I have not mentioned it, have I?" Ragnok said. "In the human tongue, I suppose you would call me a prince. My father, the fifth of my name is Chief of the Goblin Nation."

"You're Goblin royalty then?" Harry asked.

"Indeed," Ragnok said, "As is my bloodline before and after me. When my father passes, hopefully far into the future, though he is admittedly getting up there in age, I will inherit the title, and my son, the seventh of my name will take my position as Keeper of the Vaults I look over. But I imagine that won't take place until your children take control of the Trust Vaults you now own. Currently my son is a part of the Goblin security at Gringotts."

"Is that wise for someone in his position as future Chief?" Tonks asked.

"It is a risk," Ragnok said, "But as a youth, my son wasn't very disciplined. It was my decision to place him as a security guard. Thought it might make a difference in his life. It seems to be working."

"Well, thank you for revealing this to us," Harry said, "Something tells me you don't just give that kind of information out to anyone."

"Not everyone is as kind as you and your friends, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "Most magical humans just see us as protectors of their fortune. Though I do admit, when a human decides to be rude about their business, many Goblins are rude in turn. It doesn't exactly give Goblins a good name either. Your history books and that ghostly Professor of yours will tell all about the violent rebellions and battles between Goblin and magic-user. What they don't tell you is most of it started with a few simple harsh words between magic-user and Goblin. The stories have been passed around so much, nobody really knows who spoke the first harsh comment."

"And that is why there is the Goblin Liaison Office in the Ministry," Amelia said, "So we can prevent such harsh conversations. Not everyone can work at that office. You have to have a calm voice about you. If you work in that office, and one harsh comment comes out of your mouth, even if it isn't against a Goblin, you're out of a job. Harsh, but it has prevented many rebellions."

"I imagine that doesn't give off a good message to a few of the more... pigheaded purebloods," Hermione said, "They would probably see it as catering to the Goblins instead of giving more jobs to witches and wizards."

"It has been known to happen," Amelia said, "But it doesn't exactly make a difference to their opinions anyway. Those who think like that would dislike the Goblin race either way."

"True," Hermione said.

"But there isn't much we can do about that," Amelia said. "We do the best we can with what we have."

"And the Goblin nation appreciates it," Ragnok said.

Once the harvesting was complete, there was little of the Basilisk left. The Harvesters had taken nearly everything, including the skeleton, which was shrunk and placed in a box. Harry had an eerie vision of the Basilisk's large skull used as decoration in the Gringotts Atrium. What a sight that would be!

When it was time to leave – two-and-a-half hours after they had entered the Chamber – they made their way through Salazar Slytherin's office and entered through what they all hoped was the back exit of the Chamber. The stairwell resembled that of the Grand Staircase, only much smaller and narrower. The walls and room resembled that of the cavernous sewer - rocks and stone covered with moss and slime.

"I imagine this staircase has to be around a thousand years old," Hermione said, as she walked beside Harry, as they made their ascent, "And yet it seems as good as new. Must be some powerful preservation charms on it."

"Very powerful," Amelia said, "To have lasted this long."

Harry agreed, privately thinking about the possible spells and information he would find in the books and journals. Whilst he shivered at the thought of the potential discoveries of Dark Magic he would find, the various other spells that Slytherin must have used and discussed in his journals were something he wanted to know about. Especially if they were as powerful as the preservation charms he used on the staircase, and other belongings, such as the chest that had been under his bed.

As they reached the top of the staircase, they came upon what appeared to be a brick wall.

"Dead end?" Tonks asked, "Well, that's not cool at all!"

"I don't think it is a dead end," Harry said. _§I command you to open!§_

Harry grinned as the brick wall melted into an archway, much like the entrance to Slytherin's office below. The security Goblin, Axehandle, and Ragnok, who were leading the group once again, walked forward followed by Harry and Hermione.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped, "We're in the dungeons!"

"I should have known that is where the back exit would have lead," Tonks said, "Kind of obvious when you think about it."

Once everyone was out, Harry spoke in Parseltongue again. _§I command all entrances and exits into the Chamber of Secrets to close.§_

"Hopefully that command closed the entrance in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," Harry said, as the brick wall returned to normal.

The large group trekked through the dungeons and returned to the Entrance Hall. Most of the Goblins, aside from Ragnok and Carver walked toward the doors.

"Keeper Ragnok, Carver," Harry said, "I thank you for your assistance today. It was quite entertaining."

"That it was, Lord Potter!" Carver said, "A wonderful and fruitful quest. Remember to come see me at Gringotts when you return to London. Just ask me by name, or I suppose Keeper Ragnok can ask for me."

"I will do so," Ragnok said, "I will see you at Gringotts soon for the last bit of business we originally discussed.

Harry, of course, knew that Ragnok was talking about the Horcrux in his scar. "I look forward to it."

Ragnok and Carver nodded, said farewell to Harry and the other humans, who also thanked the Goblins for an entertaining time. Then the group of Goblins left the castle.

"Well," Tonks said, "I don't know about all of you, but I am in need of a good shower."

"Probably a good idea," Amelia said, "I'm sure Harry and Hermione will show you to your Quarters. I'll just say farewell here. Write to me if you need anything. That goes for you as well, Harry, Hermione."

"I plan on writing to Sirius soon," Harry said, "While I am sure he has seen the good news, I did promise to contact him."

"I'm sure he looks forward to it," Amelia said. "I'll be leaving now. Farewell."

As Amelia left, Tonks and the five students started toward the Grand Staircase. They all silently agreed with Tonks – they were in need of a good shower.

* * *

_(A few minutes earlier)_

Albus Dumbledore paced back and forth across Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, as the teenage ghost watched him with amusement. Albus had been sitting on the ground for at least two hours now – he had lost count after the first hour – knowing that any moment, Harry, Hermione, Amelia and the rest of the group would be emerging from the hole in the floor.

However, just as he turned his back on the sinks, he heard a loud mechanical scraping sound. He turned back toward the sinks and his eyes widened as the sinks returned to normal, hiding the large hole in the ground from view. Albus pondered this new development. It appeared that Harry, Hermione, Amelia and their group of humans and Goblins had somehow escaped the Chamber some other way. But how? Dumbledore had heard rumors that there was a second entrance to the Chamber somewhere, built by Salazar Slytherin and hidden by enchantments that hadn't wilted in a thousand years. But that second entrance had never been found, much like the first until recently. Was this how the group had escaped?

Albus turned and left the bathroom, ignoring Myrtle's giggles. He needed to find Potter and Granger, and he knew exactly where they would go soon enough!

* * *

_(Present...)_

Harry, Hermione, and Tonks said goodbye to Luna, Ginny and Colin then headed onto the fourth floor corridor. Colin had promised that he would get those photos to Harry in the next couple of days. Harry had thanked the second-year Gryffindor for doing his part, which pleased Colin to no end. When Harry, Hermione and Tonks reached the corridor near the Lord's Quarters, they found Albus Dumbledore waiting for them near Rapunzel's portrait.

"Whatever you want, Dumbledore, it can wait," Tonks said, fingering her wand, "We're tired and we smell bad, and I need to unpack my belongings."

"Ah, this will only take a few minutes," Dumbledore said, "Perhaps I could join you in your Quarters?"

"If you need to say something," Harry said, "You can say it out here."

"Alright," Dumbledore said, "What exactly did you do with the Basilisk corpse?"

"The Goblins harvested it," Harry said, "And are taking it back to Gringotts. I imagine they're going to figure out how much profit can be gained from the body, so they can figure out how much money I have earned. I am expected back at Gringotts before the end of the month, where I will divvy up the profits to the victims of the Basilisk. Yes, a percentage will go to Hogwarts, and none of it will go into your own pockets."

"Much of the Basilisk's body parts are quite valuable," Dumbledore said, "Good for Potions ingredients and other uses."

"Well, I am sure the Goblins will be selling much of it to various buyers," Harry said, "You can speak to Gringotts about purchasing whatever you wish from it."

"Did you discover anything else in the Chamber, Lord Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

"Nothing but a dead serpent and a lot of muck," Harry lied; of course he wasn't going to tell the man about his discoveries! "What do you think we were going to find?"

"Legend has that Salazar Slytherin used parts of the Chamber as office space," Dumbledore said, "Rumors are he kept journals and other such tomes and scrolls. Naturally the castle has been searched for these artifacts, but nothing has been found. The only place not searched is the Chamber."

"I think I would have known if there was an office," Harry said, "I found nothing like that."

"How did you escape the Chamber?" Dumbledore asked.

"The same way we entered," Harry lied. "Were you, perhaps, waiting in the bathroom all this time for us. You must have left right before we returned."

"So there is no second entrance and exit to the Chamber?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not that I know of," Harry lied again.

"My apologies, Lord Potter," Dumbledore said, "But I believe you are lying to me."

Hermione and Tonks both opened their mouths to say something but Harry motioned them to stop.

"I believe you have lied to me several times, Headmaster," Harry said. "And not just to me, but others who are close to me. After all, I know that you told my Aunt and Uncle they were my rightful guardians – a lie."

"Harry, the protections your mother's death gave you would only protect you whilst living with your Aunt," Dumbledore said, "Elsewhere, you would have been vulnerable. Which is why I believe you need to ignore your Emancipation and return to Privet Drive this summer."

"Why?" Harry asked, "So you can keep an eye on me? What good has that done over the years? Arabella Figg is apparently your spy, who has been watching me. And she's done a piss-poor job of it. I am going to stay where I want to stay this summer. And there is nothing you can do about it. Now, if you excuse us, we're going to our Quarters."

"Harry," Dumbledore said.

"Enough, old man," Harry said, "I believe I told you already that you may only speak to me and Hermione about our education. Believe me, I love this school. It is like a home to me. But I will leave it forever if I feel I am being harassed. Last warning, Dumbledore."

Suddenly, Harry heard whispers in his head, whispers coming from one of his House Rings, but the voice was not his father's. It was telling him what to say.

"Just so you know I am serious about what I say," Harry said, "I am going to do something I wasn't planning on doing for a while. But it seems necessary. I, Harry James Potter, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell, take back that which rightfully belongs my House. So mote it be!"

Dumbledore's eyes widened, as the Elder Wand flew from the pocket of his robes. Harry caught it in mid-air.

* * *

Far away from Hogwarts, in the Gaunt House near the village of Little Hangleton, a ring, hidden in a box beneath the floorboards of the shack, started to vibrate violently, attempting to escape from its prison.

* * *

Harry smiled smugly, as he placed the Elder Wand in his robes.

"Harry, do you know what you have done?" Dumbledore asked.

"I have taken back that which is mine by right of my bloodline," Harry said.

"That wand belongs to me," Dumbledore said.

"Not anymore," Harry said, "It is too dangerous in your hands. Leave, or Hermione and I will leave – both Hogwarts and Britain."

Hermione nodded in agreement. Dumbledore huffed and took a wide berth around Harry, Hermione and Tonks, the latter of which was pointing her wand at the old man. They watched as Dumbledore walked down the corridor, then disappeared around a corner.

"I would ask you what that was all about, Harry," Tonks said, "But I am not entirely sure I would understand the answer."

Harry smiled and turned to Rapunzel's portrait.

"Rapunzel!" he said, loudly.

"Ow!" Rapunzel said, "You don't have to speak so loud. It isn't windy at the moment."

"My apologies," Harry said, "Would you please add a third bedroom to the residence you guard?"

"Done and done," Rapunzel said. "Password?"

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," Harry said.

"Nice hair-do," Tonks said, "Bit long for my taste."

Harry and Hermione snickered as Rapunzel harrumphed and opened her portrait. Harry, Hermione and Tonks stepped into the Common Room of the Lord's Quarters.

"Amazing," Tonks said, "Looks quite cozy."

"It is very cozy," Hermione agreed.

"Ah, I see," Tonks said, "You had a little romantic fun in front of the fire did you not?" She snickered as Harry and Hermione blushed profusely, "You two are such a cute couple. Don't mind me when it comes to your private romantic time. I'll stay away. By the way, have you checked the room for listening devices and charms?"

Hermione gasped. "No! We haven't! I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"No matter," Tonks said; she flourished her wand around the room; "I do believe that did the trick. Little trick you pick up in the Auror Corp. I am almost sure the charms were placed by Dumbledore."

"Explains why he gave us permission to use the room so easily," Harry muttered.

"He probably set the charms before we arrived yesterday," Hermione said, "Which is why volunteered Professor McGonagall instead of himself to bring us here."

"That man is going to be a pain in my ass," Tonks said, "I just know it. Alright, I'm going to leave you lovebirds alone, unpack and go take a shower. Oops, almost forgot." She proceeded to take out the books and scrolls other items Harry had placed in her bag, and set them on the ground. "Which bedroom is mine?"

Harry pointed out the new door, and Tonks strode across the room and disappeared into her bedroom.

"Two showers, and Tonks is going to use one of them," Harry said, "What should we do?"

"Well, we could flip a coin?" Hermione said, then smirked, "Or we could shower together.

Harry sputtered, then rolled his eyes when Hermione snickered. "You're joking with me. You can take a shower first. I'm going to take a look at one of these books – whoa!"

A bright golden light appeared around Harry's hand and he looked at it, palm-facing up. Suddenly a ring appeared in the middle of his palm. And there was a black stone on top of it. Hermione's eyes widened as she looked at it.

"Harry?" Hermione said, "Is that... the Resurrection stone?"

"I think so," Harry said, "It must have come to me when I summoned the Elder Wand."

"Harry, drop it!" Hermione hissed, "Do you know what that ring must be!"

Harry immediately dropped the ring, and it landed on the floor with a thud.

"Put a Muffliato Charm on Tonks' door and the portrait hole," Harry said, "It is time to destroy a Horcrux, and – well – the others didn't play nice."

"Good idea," Hermione said, and pointed her wand at the door, "_Muffliato! _We don't need Tonks finding out before we tell her the truth about our secret. Which I think we should do when we tell Remus and Sirius."

"Sure," Harry agreed, "Especially since she'll be in close quarters with us for a while."

Harry picked up one of the Basilisk fangs, tapped it with his Holly wand to activate the venom, then he inhaled and exhaled as he looked at the ring.

"Back away, Hermione," Harry said, "I have no idea what is going to happen."

"Be careful," Hermione said.

"I'll do my best, love," Harry said.

He knelt to the floor and lifted the fang above his head, then brought it down on the ring. Then he immediately backed away from it. A loud, ghastly, piercing shriek filled the room as a thick, black tar-like substance oozed from the ring. When all was quiet and still, Harry glanced at the ring, then crawled over to it. The only apparent damage was that the Resurrection Stone had parted from the actual ring.

"I do believe the Horcrux has been destroyed," Harry said, "That's three destroyed."

"And we can obtain and destroy a fourth quite easily," Hermione said, "The Diadem. Though I think we should avoid the Vanishing Cabinet this time."

Harry laughed and Hermione joined in as well. He picked up the ring and the stone, and looked at the latter. The sign of the Hallows was indented on one side.

"Harry?" Hermione said, "I think you need to put that away now."

"Hmm?" Harry asked, as he forced himself to look up at Hermione.

"You own all three Hallows now," Hermione said, "And I am not sure I want to know what will happen because of it."

Harry gulped and nodded. Hermione was right, he realized. He was now the Master of Death.

Whatever that meant.

* * *

**Decided to end it there!**

**So many possibilities extending from this chapter. What will Harry do with the Elder Wand and the Stone? Remember, because he never was able to go into the Forest during the battle, he has not had any experiences with it. Also, what is in those journals and the trunk? What were those phrases on Slytherin's desk? None of that will be uncovered until well into the summer chapters.**

**For those of you wondering... yes, there MIGHT be more rooms down in the Chamber of Secrets. Haven't decided yet. It all depends on where I want this story to go. If there are more rooms, then Harry will uncover information about that in the journals.**

**Next chapter: A time-skip – sorta – as the last week of term begins and finishes. What will Harry and Hermione do to pass the time since there is nothing left to do education-wise? Harry and Hermione destroy another Horcrux, have various conversations with various people and do various things. Then... the Hogwarts Express and onto summer... yay!**


	13. Chapter 13: No Title

**Chapter 13  
No Title**

**Author's Note: Couldn't figure out a title for this chapter! Sorry! Too much happens in this chapter to give it a single title. Everything about Salazar Slytherin in this chapter – when it comes to his journal – comes all from my creative brain and not canon at all.**

* * *

When Albus Dumbledore defeated Gellert Grindelwald in what the history books referred to as one of the Greatest Duels In History, his one-time best friend and lover gave him one message.

"Don't let the Elder Wand control you," Gellert had said, "You'll end up like me."

Until now, Albus never knew what Gellert meant. Now he understood. The Elder Wand was a distraction. An obsession. It made him arrogant, believing that he was more powerful than he truly was. True, he was a brilliant wizard and a strong duelist. But the Elder Wand made him feel invincible!

He should have predicted what had happened outside of the Lord's Quarters. He should have seen it coming! He had felt vulnerable these past few days, more vulnerable than he had ever felt in his life – especially since he became in possession of the Elder Wand. Obviously the Elder Wand had decided he did not deserve its power. So it had chosen a new owner – Harry Potter, a descendant of the Peverell brothers, the rightful owner of the wand. Come to think of it, didn't his run of bad luck, defiance and vulnerability begin in the same time period that Harry Potter met with Ragnok at Gringotts? Obviously it all began because Potter had taken on the title of Lord Peverell. The Wand had known who its true owner was the moment Potter received his title.

The question was this: how did Potter know about the Elder Wand? Even more important, how did he know Albus owned the wand?! The answer was simple, wasn't it? Hermione Granger must have helped him. Likely, she had read the Tale of the Three Brothers before and had put together the clues, including the fact that Albus was the latest owner of the Elder Wand. She had to have bought the book from Flourish and Blott's, or the bookstore in Hogsmeade. Albus had removed all editions of _The Tales of Beedle The Bard_ from the Hogwarts Library so that nobody would read 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' and make the connection that Albus owned the Elder Wand. He had even gotten to the point of Obliviating all students who had asked Madam Pince for that book.

Now that Albus was no longer in control of the Elder Wand, his outlook on the future seemed to become more clear. Arrogance and pride was swapped out for focus and clear-thinking.

He had placed too much focus on Harry Potter. If he tread down that path any longer, the boy would likely be a student at Beauxbatons come September 1st, and all of his plans would go out the window. So he needed to take his focus off of Potter for now.

For now, Albus would focus on the Triwizard Tournament. Thanks to Cornelius Fudge's pardon, Albus was free to leave Hogwarts. This was a good thing, of course, since he had numerous meetings planned during the coming weeks and months with several people regarding the Tournament.

Yes, that was the best idea, Albus knew. Turn the focus away from Potter and Granger, and keep it on the Triwizard Tournament. He would leave Potter and Granger alone for now. At least until the moment where Potter had no choice _but _to stay at Hogwarts or risk his very life. Then the path to the Greater Good would become much smoother.

Albus sighed, popped a lemon drop in his mouth, and stood up. He crossed the room to Armando Dippet's portrait. Armando gave him a knowing smile, and his portrait swung open to reveal a safe behind it. Albus opened it up and took out a long narrow box. He returned to his desk and opened it up.

Inside was another wand. His first wand he hadn't used for decades. He tested it in his hand, and smiled.

"Hello, old friend," he said, "It has been a _very _long time."

* * *

Later that evening, Harry and Hermione lay together on the couch in front of the fireplace, in the Common Room of the Living Quarters. Harry was propped up against a couch pillow, laying lengthways on the couch, whilst Hermione was laying in his lap. Crookshanks was laying in a nearby chair, staring at Harry and Hermione; Harry still wasn't quite sure how the cat felt about him being Hermione's boyfriend. Tonks was in her room, having kept her promise to give Harry and Hermione their privacy during such times like this. Tonks had informed them that she would write a few letters to family and friends, before going to bed for the night.

As Harry lay there, staring at the crackling fire in the hearth, he thought back to earlier that day. After he had destroyed the Horcrux in Slytherin's ring, he had placed the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone in the bottom of his school trunk. Later, he had Tonks place some protective enchantments on the trunk to keep any untrustworthy people out of his trunk. Tonks also checked the bathrooms and bedrooms for listening charms and other enchantments, and was happy report that there were none.

That afternoon, while Hermione was taking a bath in Harry's bathroom, Harry wrote a letter to Sirius which he would later send out with Hedwig before going to dinner that evening. Realizing that there was always a risk of someone like Dumbledore intercepting his letters, Harry decided he would put off talking about important stuff – such as much of Amelia's meeting and what happened in the Chamber until he was face-to-face with Sirius. He did write about his discussion with Amelia when it came to Sirius. He also mentioned that he and Hermione would be witnesses at the trial. He talked about how he would be staying with Hermione for the first two weeks of summer, but also about his desires to visit his family residences, including Potter Manor and the beach house in La Rochelle, France. He also spoke of Dumbledore and how the man had been pestering him, as well as his and Hermione's threats to leave England if Dumbledore tread too far. He would discuss his other fears and discoveries about Dumbledore when he and Hermione revealed their secrets.

After finishing the letter, he started reading through what he had assumed was Salazar Slytherin's first journal. The entries read like a novel. Slytherin talked about his early childhood, growing up in Spain – five-hundred years before the country would be founded by Muggles and named Spain. In his journal, Salazar spoke of his father, an abusive man that sounded – if possible – worse than Vernon Dursley.

Salazar was not an only child – he had a sister, though she died before she reached her teenage years in a house-fire that also took his mother. Salazar would later discover that the fire was intentionally set by his father. Apparently Salazar was meant to be a victim too. Five years after the fire, Salazar tracked down his father and murdered him in a duel. Apparently Salazar's father was an expert duelist, but Salazar had spent those previous five years training himself to also become an expert duelist. Salazar had described every detail of the battle. Harry was quite surprised there was little to no arrogance in his descriptions of the battle. Salazar had actually written that he had survived the battle, killing his father, more due to luck rather than skill. He had been outmatched by his father and still won the duel.

After her bath, Harry told Hermione about what he had discovered. Hermione was quite impressed and excited.

"This is amazing history!" Hermione had said, "I don't even think there are history books that know about a lot of that information! To think, the duel between Salazar and his father could go down in the history books as one of the greatest in recorded history. In the same book as Dumbledore and Grindelwald!"

While the journal didn't exactly say it, Harry could read between the lines. It was the death of his sister and mother, and the death of his father by his own hands that had turned Salazar Slytherin into the famous Dark wizard he was known as today.

Admittedly, even though the journal told a great story, it also nearly made Harry sick to his stomach. He decided to put off reading the rest of the journals until later in the summer. Then he realized... more likely than not, when the Horcrux was removed from his scar, he would no longer have the ability to speak or read the Parsel language.

Harry had also discussed this with Hermione.

"While there is a very great possibility that you know Parseltongue because of what Voldemort did to you," Hermione had said, "There is also a miniscule chance that the ability comes from your Peverell or Black roots. I think we would have known whether your father was a Parselmouth, and his father before him. So maybe it is a dormant ability from deep in the Black side of the family. The Blacks were always seen as a dominant Dark family."

"Sirius, Regulus, Tonks' Mum, and my Grandmother the exceptions," Harry said, with a nod. "So... basically all I have to do is look at one of Slytherin's journals after the Horcrux is removed, and see if I can still read the language."

"Precisely," Hermione said.

"Is it bad that I hope I still have the ability?" Harry asked, "I could use it in the first task against the Dragon. Ragnok did say it was useful against them."

"No, it isn't bad," Hermione said, "I completely understand why you want to keep the ability. It is very useful after all, even though it is lax on universal appreciation."

That evening at dinner, both Luna and Colin sat with Harry and Hermione at the Gryffindor table. Colin said the pictures weren't ready just yet, but they would be by breakfast the following morning. Then, during dinner, Luna discussed the new article about the Basilisk she was writing for the Quibbler, and asked Harry a few questions about it. The discussion about the battle between Harry and the Basilisk had attracted a few listeners, and soon enough Harry found himself retelling the whole story, whilst Luna wrote it all down on a notepad of parchment.

There were several people who obviously doubted Harry, but most – while shocked and surprised – believed Harry to be telling the truth. Those who doubted Harry – mostly Slytherins who had heard the story through others – mostly did so because Harry had told everyone about Tom Riddle being Voldemort, and also being a half-blood with a Squib mother and Muggle father. After dinner, Draco Malfoy had confronted Harry and said his usual "I will tell my father about this!" rubbish.

"Tell your father about the entire thing!" Harry had said to Draco, "I'd love to see his face when he realizes he was kissing the boots of a half-blood. Doesn't he usually think half-bloods are below him?"

Draco looked as if he was going to throw a curse at Harry, then he stopped. He seemed to recall that Snape wasn't around to save his skin, and that Tonks – an older, more experienced duelist, and an Auror Cadet, was nearby. So he gave his usual sneer and walked away. Harry wasn't sure whether or not Draco would keep his promise. Harry also wondered if he would see the story about Tom Riddle/Voldemort being a half-blood in the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, "Harry!"

Harry shook from his reverie and turned from the fireplace and looked at Hermione, who had turned around so that she was facing him. She was now laying on her front on top of him. The way her chest was pressed against his gave him a few funny feelings in various parts of his body, which he hoped she hadn't noticed.

"Yes?" Harry asked.

"I've been trying to get your attention for two minutes now," Hermione said.

"Sorry," Harry said, "I was thinking about everything that happened today. What time is it?"

"A bit after ten-o-clock," Hermione said, "I think Tonks is finally asleep."

"Oh," Harry said, "Do you want to go to bed?"

He did his best to resist asking her if she wanted to go bed with him. He was surprised he succeeded, from the way his body seemed to be reacting to certain things.

"I'd love to," Hermione said, "But... I think that will have to wait."

"Oh? Why?" Harry asked, his voice a little hoarse; he wondered what she was up to, and his brain was starting to picture some very nice ideas that usually were only took place in his dreams.

"We need to go to the Room of Requirement," Hermione said, "and retrieve the Diadem."

Harry snapped back into reality. "Tonight?"

"Yes, Harry, tonight!" Hermione said, "Tonks will likely be with us every moment she is awake and we're not in these Quarters. So unless you want to tell her exactly what we're doing, _before _you tell Sirius and Remus – because a conversation about Horcruxes will lead to that other conversation – we need to do this tonight."

"Oh, well, alright," Harry said; Hermione moved off of Harry and Harry sat up. "Should we use the Invisibility Cloak or Disillusionment Charms?"

"Disillusionment Charms," Hermione said.

"Alright," Harry said, "I'll be right back. I need to grab the Marauder's Map."

He stood from the couch, walked across the room and entered his bedroom. He knelt by his trunk at the end of his bed, opened it and pulled out the Marauder's Map. Deciding he could destroy the Horcrux in the Room of Requirement as easy as he could destroy it in the Lord's Quarters, he picked up a Basilisk fang, and put it in his pocket. He then heard a soft whisper nearby, and jerked his around toward the door of his bedroom, thinking Hermione had spoken to him. But she wasn't there. Harry shrugged, closed the trunk, then walked out of the bedroom.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, looking at him, "I said we were going to use Disillusionment Charms. Why did you bring your Cloak?"

Harry looked down at his hands. In one hand he was holding the Marauder's Map; in the other, he was holding the Invisibility Cloak. He stared at it, trying to recall when he had taken it from his trunk.

"Er... force of habit?" Harry asked.

"Do me a favor, Harry," Hermione said, "Check if you have the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone on your person?"

Harry stared at Hermione, questioningly, and she returned the stare with a 'just do it' expression. Harry sighed and checked his clothes.

"Nothing," Harry said, "They're in the very bottom of my trunk, where I left them. Why –?"

"I know you took the Invisibility Cloak without thinking about it," Hermione said, "I think it has to do something with the Hallows _wanting _you to use them."

Harry winced. Hermione usually knew what she was talking to, and like nearly everything else she had ever said, it was easy to believe her this time as well.

"Well... should I just go put the Cloak away then?" he asked.

"We're wasting enough time as it is," Hermione said, "Just put it in your pocket. Now, I am going to place Disillusionment Charms on both of us. Like the other times we've used it, we'll be able to see each other, but no one will be able to see us. However, I can't put the Charm on the map, because it might interfere with the other enchantments. So you need to be careful with it. If you see anyone coming in our direction, put it in your pocket."

"Why can't we use the Time Turner?" Harry asked. "Then we won't risk Tonks waking up and noticing we're gone."

"Remember what Professor McGonagall said about Time Turners becoming fragile after many uses?" Hermione asked, "I don't want to risk anything happening to it. We need to let it rest for a while, especially if you want to still go ahead with your Death Eater assassination plans."

"It is necessary," Harry said.

"Then we will refrain from using the Time Turner until it too becomes necessary," Hermione said.

Harry nodded. Hermione tapped her wand on his head and he felt the familiar feeling of egg yolk running down the back of his head. Hermione tapped her wand on her head and she vanished for a moment before reappearing. Harry spoke the password to the map and looked at it.

"Filch and Mrs. Norris are in the dungeons," Harry said, "Nobody else is in the corridors."

"Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

"In his office," Harry said, looking at the footsteps going back and forth in Dumbledore's office, "Apparently he is pacing."

"Probably muttering about you defying him or something," Hermione said, "Come on. We need to go now. Especially since we have to go up the Grand Staircase. We're no longer on the seventh floor, remember?"

Harry nodded, and he and Hermione left the Lord's Quarters.

"Who's there?" Rapunzel asked, "Harry? Hermione? Is that you? I can't see you."

"Shh!" Hermione said, "We're invisible. We'll be back soon."

"Don't stay out too late," Rapunzel said, "I'm going to bed soon."

"We promise," Harry said.

He took Hermione's hand and they started off though the corridors. Every now and then, Harry would glance at the Marauder's Map to make sure their path was clear. Ten minutes later they were standing in front of the Room of Requirement. Harry checked the map again. Filch and Mrs. Norris were now walking around the second floor corridors. Then he paced back and forth in front of the blank wall and made the correct request for the needed room. The door opened on the third time around, and he and Hermione hurried inside.

"Eerie being in here so soon after what happened to us, eh?" Hermione asked, as she looked around the room.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Come on."

"Harry?" Hermione asked, as she and Harry headed down the all-too familiar path toward the Diadem's location. "Do you think we should destroy that cabinet?"

"Er... wouldn't that create some kind of paradox?" Harry said.

"Paradoxes don't exist," Hermione said, "We're already changing the future successfully and will continue to do so. We're going against everything I've ever researched on time travel."

"Oh, good point," Harry said. "Yeah, I suppose we should destroy the cabinet. Just to make sure nobody else attempts to go back to the past and change what we're changing. We'll do that after we destroy the Horcrux. I brought a Basilisk fang with me."

"'Kay," Hermione said; she was quite nervous and jumpy; when Harry nudged her, she looked at him and smiled. "Sorry. I'm fine. Just having a bit of Deja-Vu."

"Nothing bad is going to happen," Harry said. "I promise."

Hermione smiled and nodded. Soon they reached the bust which the Diadem was sitting on. Harry gently took it with both hands, and set it down in a empty space of floor.

"It seems a real pity that we have to destroy it with a Basilisk fang," Hermione said, "Shouldn't we keep it until we go back to Gringotts, and let the Goblins take care of it? It sounds like they were able to remove the taint from Hufflepuff's Goblet and it is good as new."

"Would you really want to wear the Diadem after so many years of being tainted with Dark Magic?" Harry asked. "You would never know if some of the taint has been left over."

Hermione grimaced. "Good point."

"Besides," Harry said, "I promised Helena Ravenclaw I would destroy it."

Hermione sighed and nodded then raised her eyes to the ceiling. "Please forgive us, Rowena. It is necessary."

The process of destroying the Diadem was eerily similar to the ring's destruction. Harry pierced it with the fang, then slid back away from the Diadem as an ungodly scream tore through the room, and a black tar-like substance oozed from the Diadem. When all was said and done, the Diadem was split in two. Harry picked up the two pieces and put them in one of his robe pockets. Hermione looked at him oddly.

"I am going to keep a few of the Horcruxes," Harry said, "And show them to Voldemort the night I destroy him. So I can show him exactly how he has failed."

Hermione smiled. "I am oddly very supportive of that idea. So... shall we destroy the cabinet?"

Harry looked at the large Cabinet standing nearby. "How shall we do it?"

"Reducto!" Hermione growled, pointing her wand at the cabinet.

Harry watched with wide eyes as the cabinet fell apart in splinters on the ground of all shapes and sizes. Hermione then flourished her wand toward the splinters and they vanished.

"Obliterated them into non-existence," Hermione said, smugly; then she frowned and stared at him for a moment; before he could ask what was wrong, she smiled. "Was just making sure you weren't going to disappear because of a paradox."

"Ha-ha," Harry said, rolling his eyes, "Very funny. Let's go back."

Hermione agreed and the pair started heading back toward the exit. They were immensely relieved when they walked out of the Room of Requirement. Both were uneasy about the whole thing after their recent visit which had thrown them back into the past. Harry checked the Marauder's Map, and found that Argus Filch and Mrs. Norris were now in their living quarters on the first floor of the castle. Nobody else was patrolling the corridors. Dumbledore was still pacing in his office.

Soon enough, they were back at the portrait of Rapunzel. They recited the password and she nodded and yawned as she opened her portrait. They walked into the Common Room and both were quite relieved that Tonks wasn't waiting for them.

Hermione turned to Harry, wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled as she looked at him.

"A successful end to an even more successful day," she said.

"Indeed," Harry said, "Four down, three to go."

"I'd say that deserves a congratulatory kiss," Hermione said.

Harry agreed wholeheartedly and leaned toward her for a kiss. She chuckled against his lips and returned the kiss. After about a minute, both backed away, quite satisfied. Hermione released her hold from around him, and backed away in the direction of her bedroom.

"I will see you tomorrow, Harry," Hermione said, "Love you."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry said.

Hermione smiled and retreated into her bedroom. Harry made his way into his own bedroom, and walked over to his trunk. He placed the broken halves of the Diadem in the bottom of his trunk. Then the placed the Marauder's Map at the top. He was about to put the Invisibility Cloak in the trunk, when he thought better of it. Something in the back of his mind told him that placing all three Hallows so close together was a bad idea. It had probably been the reason why he had walked out of the room before with the Invisibility Cloak.

"I don't know what it means to be Master of Death," Harry said, as he looked at the Cloak, "But I refuse to let you take any power over me."

He slammed the trunk closed, and climbed into bed. He draped the cloak over the backboard of the bed, then laid his head down on the pillow and dozed off to sleep with scenes of Hermione playing in his dreams.

* * *

The following morning, as Harry, Hermione and Tonks were dining on breakfast, the post owls flew into the Great Hall, Hedwig had returned with a reply from Sirius. Another owl also dropped the newest issue of the Daily Prophet in front of both Harry and Hermione. They had sent out subscriptions for the Daily Prophet whilst in Hogsmeade on Saturday.

"What did Sirius say?" Hermione asked, in a whisper, as Harry started reading through the letter; she had cast a Muffliato Charm as soon as the owls had arrived.

"He thanked both of us for our part in helping him get a trial," Harry said. "He is apparently staying in a flat in Diagon Alley with Remus – Remus is paying for it."

"Ooh," Hermione said, "Maybe we can see them on the same day we go to Gringotts."

Harry nodded. "Good idea. Let's see. He mentioned both Potter Manor and La Rochelle, and says he had lived at Potter Manor for a couple years after he ran away from home. La Rochelle – he went there for a few weeks with Remus and my parents the summer after they finished their education at Hogwarts. He says it is quite beautiful. I told him in my letter that we really wanted to visit both of the houses, and he said that would be quite possible this summer. He also suggested we use Potter Manor as our permanent residence."

"That is a good idea," Hermione said. "It certainly sounds wonderful. And probably big enough to hold you all your future wives and children."

Harry felt his cheeks go warm and he cleared his throat. "Let's see... I told him about my suspicions of Dumbledore... not much, just a bit. Interesting. He says he isn't surprised at all. Apparently he had his own suspicions. Anyway... he says he'll tell me more when I meet him face-to-face."

"Did he say anything about me?" Tonks asked.

"I told him you were our bodyguard," Harry said, "And he remembers you as – and I quote – 'the little brat who interrupted his best man speech'."

"He did not?" Tonks asked.

"He also said your family is some of the best sort around," Harry said, "Then he said if Amelia chose you as my bodyguard, then the brat must have grown up into a good young woman."

Tonks smiled. "Always liked that man."

"Have you ever been to Potter Manor?" Hermione asked.

"Course!" Tonks said, "It was where James and Lily's wedding and reception was. And it is where I went sometimes when they babysat me. Beautiful manor. Hermione's right, Harry. It is large enough to fit all your future family in."

She winked and he blushed again.

"Well, that is all there is," Harry said, setting the letter aside, "other then another thanks for helping him."

"Happy to know that Azkaban and the Dementors couldn't take away everything I remembered about my cousin," Tonks said, "He's still a good man and he still has a bit of a sense of humor. I'll hex him for calling me a brat!"

Harry laughed and picked up the newspaper, then opened it up. He began to read it during breakfast. On the front page, there were repeat articles about both Sirius and Snape with no real new information. When he turned to the next page, he found the article he had feared would come after his story the previous night at dinner. There was no picture, just a large bold title and article below. He grimaced when he saw that it was written by Rita Skeeter.

**BOY-WHO-LIVED HARRY POTTER TELLING TALL-TALES?  
SAYS HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED IS A HALF-BLOOD!**

_**Daily Prophet**_** Journalist Rita Skeeter reporting:**

**On that tragic evening of Halloween in 1981, Harry Potter,**  
**then a baby – barely over a year old – murdered the worst**  
**Dark Lord in centuries, known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-**  
**Named. But the Boy-Who-Lived could not let the man**  
**rest in peace, readers. No, according to sources, Harry**  
**Potter is trying to discredit the Dark Lord once and for**  
**all in what may be his ultimate revenge for the tragic**  
**loss of his parents?**

**Last night in the Great Hall at Hogwarts, while the students**  
**were dining on dinner, Harry Potter announced to everyone**  
**that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is none other than Tom**  
**Marvolo Riddle, a Half-Blood.**

**Tom Riddle was a star student in his time. He was a Prefect,**  
**the Head Boy, a member of Horace Slughorn's famous Slug**  
**Club, in which yours truly was also an alumni of, and he had**  
**earned an Award for Services to the School. Does this sound**  
**like the makings of the most feared Dark Lord in recent history?**

**Lucius Malfoy, whose son Draco was witness to Potter's tall tale**  
**had this to say:**

**"Potter has been known to tell all kinds of tales since his return**  
**to the wizarding world. He has managed to become a teacher's**  
**pet to several of the Professors at Hogwarts, and has earned**  
**several points for his House, when anyone else might have been**  
**expelled for the same incidents he went through. My son Draco**  
**saw him in Hogsmeade earlier this year, when in fact he did not**  
**have permission to go to the village. Draco remembers no news**  
**that Potter had been reprimanded for such things. What do I think**  
**about his latest story? It should be placed in a rubbish bin. My**  
**father knew Tom Marvolo Riddle, and told great stories about the**  
**man. Both men would be ashamed at such accusations that  
such an honorable man could turn into He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."**

**There you have it, readers. Just more lies and tall tales. It makes one**  
**question whether or not the events of that night in Godric's Hollow**  
**really happened the way we heard them. After all, aside from a baby,**  
**who was there to witness the events go down?**

**Believe what you will, readers. I certainly will.**

Harry scoffed as he finished and pushed the newspaper away.

"What utter rubbish!" Harry growled. "How can Rita Skeeter say that when the evidence can be found quite easily?!"

"It is Rita Skeeter, Harry," Tonks said, "She always writes that kind of rubbish. Wrote a nasty piece about my father a few years ago. Questioned his skill as a Solicitor. Dad lost a few clients because of Skeeter. But that is exactly what she wanted to do."

"Once the Daily Prophet discovers the truth," Hermione said, "they'll write a retraction which will discredit Rita Skeeter."

"Doubtful," Harry said, "It would give them a bad name too."

"Are you talking about Skeeter's article?" Luna asked, as she and Colin sat down across from Harry, Hermione and Tonks, "Daddy finds her articles entertaining. He doesn't believe a word she ever says, but he gives her points for creativity. Don't worry, Harry. I am going to publish the story you told about Tom Riddle in the Quibbler soon enough. Right next to the story about the Basilisk. They'll read the story about the Basilisk, and then the tale about Tom Riddle given by the same hero who killed a Basilisk. That will make them believe you."

"Thanks," Harry said.

"Speaking of the Basilisk, Harry!" Colin said, "I got a few photos done last night and made copies."

He handed a small stack of pictures to Harry, who took them. He looked through them and smiled as he looked back at Colin.

"These are fantastic, Colin!" Harry said, "Did you happen to get any pictures of the – er – special room?"

"Yeah, sure did," Colin said, "But they aren't ready yet."

"Can I have all of them?" Harry asked, "Copies and originals? I'd rather those not be discovered by the public yet."

"Sure, Harry, I understand," Colin said. "I'll give them to you when they're finished."

"Thanks," Harry said, as he continued looking through the pictures and handed each to Hermione, who looked as thrilled as he did, "They are really good."

"Definitely," Hermione said.

"Don't go showing them around to everyone just yet, Harry," Luna said, "We're going to wait for the big reveal until the Quibbler comes out."

"Understood," Harry said.

He pocketed the pictures and the group moved on to random and innocent topics while eating breakfast. 

* * *

"She was a beautiful creature, Harry!" Hagrid said; tears running down his face as he looked at the pictures, "Magnificent, really. Did ya truly 'ave ter kill 'er? Was there no other option?"

Harry, Hermione and Tonks were now in Hagrid's hut after breakfast. Harry was fulfilling his promise to show Hagrid the pictures.

"It was pretty much a life and death situation," Harry said, "Wasn't thinking about preserving a life. She was trying to kill me and I had to put her down before she put me down."

"I understand," Hagrid said, "A wonder, ain't it? A beauty like this been under the castle for a thousand years or so."

"Yeah," Harry said.

He and Hermione exchanged smiles. Even though the creature was the one who had been responsible for so many unfortunate events, and was partially responsible for Hagrid getting expelled, the half-giant still appreciated the creature for what it was. A gentle heart for such a large man.

"Must have been exciting watching the Goblins harvest it," Hagrid said.

"It was... an experience," Harry said.

"Quite educational," Hermione said.

"Rather disgusting," Tonks added.

Hagrid chortled. "I imagine so, on all accounts. Now, tell me about how you saved Buckbeak. I been trying to figure out how you did it, and I can't put my mind on it. McGonagall did say something during the staff meeting about a time turner?"

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other. So that was how Hagrid had heard about it, through a staff meeting. Amelia likely told McGonagall and Dumbledore about what had happened during the events with the time turner, and McGonagall, in turn, told the Professors. Harry and Hermione both nodded and silently agreed to tell both Tonks and Hagrid everything that had happened. By the end of the tale, both Tonks and Hagrid were amazed. Hagrid stood, walked over to Harry and Hermione and picked them both up into a hug.

"Thank you, you two!" Hagrid said, as tears ran down his face and into his beard, "Thank you for helping Buckbeak. I'll never be able to repay you for that."

"You already have, by being our friend," Harry said.

"Oh, bless you both," Hagrid said.

"Amazing, that was," Tonks said. "You can really do a Patronus that can take out a flock of Dementors?"

Harry took his wand from his pocket and produced his Stag Patronus.

"Amazing!" Hagrid said, "What a creature!"

"Wow!" Tonks said, simply shocked, "Brilliant! Are you sure you're only thirteen?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged grins.

"I feel so bad about thinking Sirius Black was a bad man all these years," Hagrid said, as he sat back down in his large chair, "Earlier this year, I even called him a murderer and a traitor. When I see 'im next, I'm going to give him a 'pology. I 'ope 'e doesn't hate me. He has a good reason fer it too. I took you from his arms the night your parents died, Harry. If I 'adn't... maybe Sirius would be a free man and 'ave raised you."

"It isn't your fault, Hagrid," Harry said, "You didn't know what would have happened."

"True," Hagrid said, "But at least yeh'd 'ave been away from those relatives o' yours."

"I no longer have to return to their house," Harry said, "So it doesn't matter anymore. I know my parents would forgive you. You did introduce me to the wizarding world, after all. My life's been pretty good since."

Hagrid smiled as tears leaked down his face. "That it 'as, Harry. That it 'as."

* * *

**Okay, this is an odd ending. But I decided to end it here. I thought about having a time-skip that would describe the last week of term. But that can take place at the beginning of next chapter.**

**Next chapter: The time-skip, the journey on the Hogwarts Express, where Harry is joined by his Betrothed. Then Harry meets Hermione's parents and summer begins!**

**Additional Note: The cabinet that was destroyed was NOT the same one used by Bellatrix and her fellow Death Eaters. That didn't get destroyed until a year and a half later. Besides... I don't think Bellatrix and her Death Eaters went back in time when they went through the cabinet. So the cabinet was obviously different.**


	14. The Beginning Of A Long Summer

**Chapter 14  
The Beginning Of A Long Summer  
**

**Author's Note: Once again, thank you for another successful poll! Over 200 votes for the winning option! Amazing! I had a feeling I knew who the winner would be and I was right. But I had to make sure. I'm sure there will be another poll soon enough!**

**To those of who you might have wanted Ginny to be a part of Harry's Harem, it isn't going to happen. I have other stories that can have her in his group. This one can be different. This chapter basically says exactly what Harry has decided about Ginny in this story. At the moment, Tonks and Fleur will probably be additional girls in the Harem. Though Harry and Hermione will have some issues about that due to what happened in the other time-line.**

**The first section of this chapter is all paragraphs as the final week of term is described. Some good things happen though! Such as Quidditch! Enjoy!**

* * *

The final week of the '93-'94 school term came to an end, and even though there was nothing to do when it came to education, Harry and Hermione couldn't say it was boring at all.

Tuesday morning, before breakfast, Fred and George spoke with Harry and told him they had come up with a plan to give Oliver Wood a nice send-off from Hogwarts: one final Quidditch match. They had already discussed it with Angelina, Alicia and Katie. Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch had both agreed as well after a long discussion.

So during breakfast, Professor McGonagall announced a short two-day tournament – Thursday and Friday - and the winner would get 150 points toward the House Cup at the Leaving Feast which would take place after the final game of the tournament. All four Quidditch teams agreed and Oliver looked like he was going to cry with excitement. He had started talking about when they should hold a practice, when McGonagall made another announcement. Each team would get one scheduled practice for two hours during that day and the following day – the captains just needed to figure out a schedule. Oliver was the first to rush forward to McGonagall and assign practices. The first would be right after breakfast – Harry could have predicted that from how well he knew Oliver Wood. The second would be an evening practice the following day. Oliver said they would do a night practice just in case they had to play during the evening.

Harry had just barely finished his breakfast when Oliver ordered the team to grab their brooms and outfits and go down to the Quidditch Pitch. Hermione and Tonks both accompanied Harry down to the Pitch, and by the time Harry had began practice he found they had gathered quite a crowd. When Oliver realized their were students from all houses – including Susan, Luna, Daphne and Tracy – he had of course complained about spying. But Angelina reminded Oliver they had less than two hours to practice which stopped Oliver's complaints at once and sent him into Captain mode, ordering everyone to get into the air.

Even though Harry had not flown a broom for over a year – spanning both time-lines – it didn't take long for him to become accustomed to his Firebolt again. The feeling of wind whipping around him and the sounds of the crowd cheering below him, and the rush of speeding toward the Snitch as he attempted to catch it – it was familiar to him and he welcomed it.

It was a pity that there would be no Quidditch the following year. Or would there? Harry wondered if he could convince the Professors to allow a few matches in between the Tasks. After all, the Pitch wouldn't be used for the maze until after Easter break. He would ponder this and figure out a good argument for when it was time to speak to the Professors about it.

The start of the two-day tournament was on Thursday morning. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were the first to play. Even though Oliver had put them through a hard practice the evening before, the entire Gryffindor team knew they were doing this for Oliver as a great send-off in his name. Their spirits were up the entire time during breakfast and the pre-match preparations. Oliver seemed rather worried and nervous though, and it didn't help Harry's nerves either. But they were able to overcome their nerves by the time they were in the air. And after a exciting and action-packed match that lasted nearly two hours, the match ended as Harry and Cedric raced across the Pitch, trying to capture the Golden Snitch. One of the Hufflepuff Beaters had smacked a Bludger toward Harry, but when Harry sped forward, the Bludger soared toward Cedric, causing the older Seeker to fly off path. This lead Harry to catch the Snitch for the victory – Gryffindor: 410 – Hufflepuff: 260.

In comparison, the Slytherin and Ravenclaw match didn't last very long at all. Draco Malfoy made a very early mistake when he found the Snitch and flew toward it. However, this also gave Cho Chang of Ravenclaw its position as well. When the Ravenclaw Beater smacked the Bludger in Draco's direction, he backed off in fear. This allowed Cho Chang to fly toward the Snitch and grab it. Ravenclaw won 190 – 30.

The final match of the two-day tournament was a rematch of the Quidditch Cup final a few weeks prior. It would take place on Friday afternoon just hours before the end-of-term Feast. Oliver was too nervous to speak, but Angelina Johnson said the words that everyone wanted to hear.

"We win this early enough," she said, "and we can have a party in Oliver's honor in the Gryffindor Common Room before we have to be down at the Great Hall for the feast!"

This pumped up the whole Gryffindor team. The Quidditch match that followed took only half-an-hour. Two-thirds through the match Harry took down Cho with a Wronski Feint, resulting in her plowing into the ground. It took her out of the match for the next few minutes. By the time she was able to fly into the air, Harry had found the Snitch. By the time Cho had gotten fifty feet away, the Snitch was in Harry's hand. Gryffindor: 230 – Ravenclaw: 60. Gryffindor won the two-day tournament, and the 150 points.

Hermione and Tonks met Harry outside the locker room and both congratulated him with a kiss – Hermione on the lips, and Tonks on the cheek. Harry was quite red after the latter. Later after the raucous party in the Gryffindor Common Room, Hermione asked him if he had done the Wronski Feint to Cho on purpose. Harry simply said he wanted to show off. After all, it wasn't as if he was deliberately trying to hurt the girl who he had a fancy for, for a long time, in the previous time-line before she broke his heart. Nah, that would be too mean. Especially since she hadn't done anything to him yet. At least that is what he told Hermione. He wasn't sure if she believed him or not.

When Harry wasn't practicing or playing Quidditch during the final week of term, he was hanging out with Hermione, either in the Lord's Quarters Common Room, or outside in their newly found spot on the Grounds underneath a shady tree. In the Common Room, when they weren't having innocent and fun conversations with Tonks, she usually left them alone. They later found out that when she was alone, she was doing some of her Cadet Studies. Just because she wouldn't be training at the Corps in Brighton, or the Ministry's Auror Department anymore, it didn't mean she wasn't going to teach herself a few things she would learn whilst in her last year of being an Auror Cadet.

When Harry and Hermione had their privacy, they discussed a lot about the future, doing so behind the ensured silence of a Muffliato Charm. Hermione outlined their discussions on parchment, adding privacy enchantments onto the notes so nobody besides them could see it. They discussed what they would say to Sirius, Remus and Tonks when it was finally time to tell their secret. They also started putting together their plans for the Death Eater Assassinations that summer, writing down all the names of free Death Eaters that they could remember. They both agreed they wouldn't begin until they talked about it to Sirius, Remus and Tonks. Yes, they would like it if the older three would help them out with their plans, but both Harry and Hermione knew it had to be done, and would do it with or without their help.

An interesting thing that both Harry and Hermione noted was that Albus Dumbledore was now ignoring them. He had not spoken to them or even looked at them much since Harry had taken the Elder Wand from him. Harry didn't know what to make of that, but they had decided to tread cautiously around him, in case he was just trying to catch them unaware. Every day, during the final week of term, Harry had made sure the Elder Wand and Resurrection Stone were in the bottom of his trunk.

Also, aside from Luna, who would sit with Harry and Hermione at breakfast, Harry's betrothed were ignoring him. Susan and Daphne hadn't spoken to Harry since the previous weekend. But half-way through the week, Hermione had told him that Susan and Daphne were likely avoiding him just so there wouldn't be any rumors spread yet about the Betrothals. Harry figured she was probably correct.

Friday evening after the Leaving Feast – in which Gryffindor won the House Cup, thanks to the two-day Quidditch Tournament – Harry and Hermione were cuddled up on the couch in the Lord's Quarters. They had just finished up packing their belongings, and had placed the outfits they would wear tomorrow in their carry-on bags. Tonks was taking a long bath and had even commented she might fall asleep in said bathtub. If she hadn't exited the bathroom before they went to bed, then they had permission to see if she was alright. Hermione had set a Muffliato Charm on the bathroom door as soon as Tonks had vanished behind it.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, laying against Harry's chest and staring into the fire, "We've discussed Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and what to do about them. But we haven't discussed other people. Such as Dolores Umbridge."

"Perhaps we should add Umbridge's name to the list of assassinations," Harry suggested. "Even though she isn't a Death Eater, she gave us so much hell and grief. When we defeat Voldemort, she would be one of those who wouldn't believe that he even attempted to return, even with proof."

"She would call us liars," Hermione said, "and likely attempt to send Dementors after you – or us – again."

"And she might add my Betrothed to her list of targets too," Harry said, "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you or them, Hermione. We'll add her to the list of assassinations."

"Alright," Hermione said. "I really hope Tonks agrees to go along with this. We'll need someone like her to get us information on where everyone lives."  
**  
**"Once she understands what we're doing," Harry said, "I think she'll agree."

"I hope so," Hermione said. "Harry? What should we do about Rita Skeeter?"

"Well," Harry said, "Once the Quibbler with my stories are published, it will be known that Skeeter was lying. I still don't understand how she could get away with calling me a murderer. Doesn't she understand what kind of backlash that would bring?"

"She probably craves the drama," Hermione said. "I am sure she was given howlers and letters about her article. Those responses just give her more targets to write about and slander."

"Or more incentive to write more rubbish about me," Harry said, "Simply because she knows it gets a lot of attention."

"True," Hermione said, "So what should we do about her?"

"Well, we could discredit her ourselves," Harry said. "Apparently I own a percentage of the Daily Prophet and their sister subscriptions. I could waltz into their office and demand satisfaction. As Head of two Houses, I can do that and get away with it."

"And who was the one who informed you of that?" Hermione asked.

"You, love," Harry said, as he kissed her bushy hair, "However... waltzing into the Daily Prophet office seems... too easy. We need to do something more exciting. We've made her interested in me. We need to give her something else."

"Oh, that is easy," Hermione said, "Sirius' trial. She'll likely be there in person and so will we. After the trial, we say something in her vicinity. She might just try to follow us in her Animagus form. Then we capture her and... well, we'll figure that out when we get there."

"I say it again, love," Harry said, "You are extremely sexy when you're plotting."

Hermione grinned and turned over so that her chest was pressing against his. This was a common position for her to be in over the past few nights, but Harry still felt the tingles circulating through his body whenever it happened. Whether or not she had felt his reaction, she never said. She leaned toward him and kissed him soundly on the lips. Harry returned the kiss, and after a few moments, he brushed his tongue along her lips. She opened them and he dipped his tongue inside and slid it along hers. Their tongues danced passionately as they kissed. Both backed away when they had forgotten to breathe out of their noses. Hermione lay her head on his chest and smiled at him.

"Are you ready to officially meet my parents as my boyfriend tomorrow?" she asked.

"I think so," Harry said, nodding, then a thought came to his mind, "Oh, bloody hell!"

"What?" Hermione asked, alarmed.

"I didn't send a letter to the Dursleys," Harry said, "they'll be waiting for me at King's Cross tomorrow."

Hermione smiled. "Well, then you can say goodbye to them in person. And so can I."

"No," Harry said, "I know you're plotting something. Whatever it is will cause a scene in a crowd of Muggles. And maybe in front of your parents. Let me take care of it."

Hermione harrumphed and pouted. "Alright. I'd feel better if I could give them a piece of my mind though."

"You would also feel worse later on," Harry said, "I'm protecting you from that inevitability."

Hermione's pout turned into a smile. "My hero. I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry said.

And they sealed it with another kiss before silence took over again as they laid together in front of the fire.

* * *

The Hogwarts Express would be leaving at exactly eleven-o-clock on Saturday morning. So at half-past ten, Harry, Hermione and Tonks piled into one of the Thestral-drawn carriages with all their belongings, including Hedwig and Crookshanks in their carriers. Right before the carriage was about to leave, Luna and Ginny entered.

"Daphne and Susan found me after breakfast today," Luna said, as the carriage began its journey toward Hogsmeade, "They wanted me to give you a message. They wish to sit with you on the Hogwarts Express, so find a big enough carriage to hold all of us. And they said they might bring friends along. Only one each, I think."

"Alright," Harry said.

"Er... why would they want to sit with you?" Ginny asked.

Harry looked at Hermione, and she shrugged and nodded. Harry turned back to Ginny.

"Daphne, Susan and Luna are my Betrothed," Harry said, "I found that out last week."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Oh, I see. And... how do you feel about that, Hermione?"

"I'm quite fine with it," Hermione said, "If it comes to the point where Harry would marry me, and his three Betrothed, I'd be okay with that."

"I see," Ginny said, again, "I didn't know the Muggle world favored Polygamy."

"Well, they don't," Hermione said, "But I'm a witch, and we're not going to tell my parents about it for a while. Harry's meeting them today as my boyfriend, so it would be an awkward conversation to tell them that my boyfriend is planning on marrying three other girls."

"Ginny," Harry said, "Please keep this a secret... from everybody. Including your family. I am sure the news about this will get out sometime. But I'd like to keep it private as long as possible."

"I'll do my best," Ginny said, "Though wouldn't it bring up questions if someone sees you and your Betrothed sitting together in the train?"

"Oh, that's easy," Tonks said, "Notice-Me-Not Charms on the doors and windows as soon as everyone is in the carriage. We'd have to keep watch out for the Snack Lady so she doesn't pass us by, but aside from that, we'll have our achieved privacy."

"Harry and I bought plenty of candy during our last Hogsmeade trip," Hermione said, "We can share with everyone."

"Well, that is perfect then," Tonks said, "We don't need to keep watch for the Snack Lady, and we can have our privacy for the entire journey."

"Which means we can avoid Malfoy who usually likes to visit us," Harry said.

"Ah, that will be a nice change," Hermione said, with a grin.

Harry chuckled, then smiled as Hermione laid her head on his shoulder.

Ginny turned her attention to the window, and concentrated on the passing scenery. Harry didn't know what he was going to do about her. He would like to have her a friend, but definitely nothing more than that. Yes, he had loved her in previous time-line. Whether it was due to Amortentia, or his own feelings – well, he wasn't sure yet. But things were different now. He loved Hermione, and she would be a part of his permanent future if he had his say. Hermione didn't have any problems that he had three other girls who he was contracted to marry. Ginny's mannerisms seemed to say that she would likely have problems with it. As long as she was satisfied with being his friend, then he would be her friend. And nothing more.

When the carriages arrived at Hogsmeade at a quarter-till eleven, Harry wasn't at all surprised when Ginny broke away from their group the moment they left the carriages. He knew she still fancied him. Hopefully if someone invited her to the Yule Ball in December – perhaps Neville – then they could take her mind off of Harry and let her explore new options for romance. Harry just hoped she didn't try anything stupid to achieve what she wanted.

Harry and Hermione had packed all their belongings – aside from their pet carriers – into his Undetectable Extension Bag. So once Luna set down her trunk with the rest of those that would be placed in the storage compartments under the train, Harry, Hermione, Luna and Tonks made their way onto the train.

"I suppose we should find a carriage that can hold eight," Harry said.

"Nah, any will do," Tonks said, then led them into an carriage. "Watch this."

She flourished her wand around the carriage, and it began to stretch so that the area, whilst still the same width, stretched lengthways and two more separate seats appeared along the window and the wall near the sliding door.

"Wicked!" Hermione said, "That is some very advanced Transfiguration!"

"NEWT-level magic," Tonks said.

Harry and Hermione took the farthest seats back from the door, and set Hedwig's cage and Crookshanks' carrier above the seat. Tonks and Luna sat near the door. A couple minutes later, Susan arrived with Hannah Abbot.

"Wow," Hannah said, "I don't think I've ever come across a compartment this size."

"It was transfigured with magic," Harry said, "Come in and sit down."

"You don't mind if Hannah joins us, do you?" Susan asked. "I – er – told her about – you know – us. She's my best friend, so I couldn't keep it from her."

"I don't mind at all," Harry said.

Hermione, Tonks and Luna agreed, and Susan and Hannah sat down at the window seat. Harry introduced Susan and Hannah to Tonks. It turned out that Susan and Hannah had known Luna for many years..

"Hannah, Luna and I grew up together, sorta," Susan said, "Every time our families took us to social parties, that mostly had to do with the remaining Great Alliance members, we hung out in a room specified for the children."

Daphne and Tracy arrived a few moments later and Harry welcomed them inside. They sat down together at the remaining seat.

"Kind of a risk having all three of your Betrothed in here, eh?" Daphne said to Harry, "Especially if you want to keep it quiet for as long as possible."

"We've already thought about that," Harry said, "Cadet Tonks? Would you do the honor?"

Tonks smiled and flourished her wand toward the door, then she explained to those who didn't know what she was doing. "Notice-Me-Not Charms. Nobody will bother us. They'll walk right by the door and not even look in here."

"Handy," Daphne said. "Harry, I'd like to apologize if you think I was avoiding you. As I said, I thought you might want to keep our... future relationship quiet for the time-being."

"Luna explained that already," Harry said, smiling. "To be honest, I didn't really notice. Had a busy week what with Quidditch and other things."

"Yeah," Daphne said, "Even with no classes, there is never a day's peace at Hogwarts. I did want to talk to you about Rita Skeeter's article. Are you going to do anything about her? She basically called you a murderer to all of Great Britain."

"We're going to hit it from two sides," Harry said, "Luna, here, is going to be putting together a couple articles for the next edition of her father's newspaper."

"We should have it ready for the middle of next week," Luna said, smiling. "I can send everyone here a copy when it is ready."

"She's going to write the real story of what I said about Tom Riddle," Harry explained.

"Counter-propaganda," Daphne said, nodding, "That will work. What else?"

"Rita Skeeter doesn't know something very important about me," Harry said, grinning, "I own forty-five percent of the Daily Prophet."

Daphne laughed. "Skeeter basically slandered one of the owners of the Daily Prophet. Nice."

"We also know one of her biggest secrets," Hermione said, "We know how she gets most of her information. Can everyone here keep a secret? At least until we pin it on her."

Everyone in the compartment nodded.

"Rita is a beetle Animagus," Hermione said, "We sort of found that out by accident."

"And she is unregistered," Harry added.

"Oho!" Tonks said, "You could do a lot with that."

"You could tell Auntie about it," Susan suggested.

"Too easy," Daphne said, "Make her pay for what she said about you, Potter. She needs her reputation injured or outright destroyed. Tell her exactly what you know about her. Blackmail her. Either she resigns from the newspaper, or you out her as an unregistered Animagus."

"Can't she register herself once you tell her you know?" Tracy asked.

"Not unless she wants to pay a heavy fine," Tonks said, "It all depends on when she became an Animagus. If it was more than two months ago, then she's in trouble. You have two months from your first successful complete transformation to register yourself. There are spells used by those in that specific Department that can detect how long you've been an Animagus."

Harry nodded. He liked the the suggestions already. Especially if he could prevent Rita from writing her slander during the Triwizard Tournament. Just one of the things he would be doing during what would be a very busy summer. As the train jolted into movement, Harry looked out the window at Hogwarts. What he had told Dumbledore a few days prior had been the truth. Hogwarts was truly his home. But his true home would likely change during the summer. Potter Manor sounded fantastic, and the beach house in La Rochelle sounded quite beautiful. He wondered if, by the time he returned to Hogwarts in September, he would feel homesick for the first time in his life. He certainly never felt that way when he lived with the Dursleys.

"By the way," Daphne said, and Harry turned his attention to her, "Daddy wrote to me yesterday. He knew I would likely be talking to you today. He is going to wait to contact you with an invitation to our home, for a dinner meeting, until after Sirius Black's trial. He knows Sirius is your godfather and hopes that he receives his freedom, so he can join us at the dinner meeting. He knows you are Emancipated; he just likes to do official meetings the correct way with an adult guardian on both sides of the conversation."

"Fine with me," Harry said.

"Good," Daphne said, "He says he'll send you a voice-activated Portkey through the post when the time comes. He promises it will lead you straight to our Manor."

"Alright," Harry said.

"I think Daddy would agree to the same kind of arrangement," Luna said, "Though he does want to meet your parents as well, Hermione. I told him all about you."

"I think they might go along with that," Hermione said.

"Good," Luna said, "Daddy and I will figure out the details, and send you a letter along with the Quibbler."

"So aside from those official meetings," Susan said, "as well as Sirius' trial, and making Rita Skeeter regret writing that article. What are you planning to do this summer? The reason I am asking is Auntie wrote to me a couple days ago. She wants to invite the two of you, and you as well Cadet Tonks, and a few friends to the Quidditch World Cup at the end of August. Maybe you too Daphne, Luna. Hannah's already said yes."

Harry wondered if the Weasleys would still invite him and Hermione now that they were no longer friends with Ron. Then he realized he didn't really care. Amelia and Susan would be his family in the future.

"I'd be happy to accept," Harry said.

"Me too," Hermione said, smiling.

"Daddy has tickets through some of his connections," Luna said, "So Madam Bones can give my ticket to someone else."

"Tracy then?" Susan asked.

Daphne and Tracy looked at each other and smiled, then Daphne turned to Susan.

"We're in," she said.

"Excellent," Susan said. "Auntie will be happy. Thanks to her job, she's getting several tickets in the Minister's Box."

Harry raised his eyebrows. He certainly didn't remember seeing Amelia and Susan in the Minister's box last time. He wondered what had changed. Maybe it was a reward for the capture of Snape?

"Well, to answer your question," Harry said, "Aside from the aforementioned stuff... I have a few plans. I'm going to be staying at Hermione's house for the first two weeks of summer. And then – well, I hope to move into Potter Manor."

"Ooh, I've heard stories about that house from my Auntie," Susan said, "she's been there several times back before we were born. She said it is quite a beautiful house."

"It is," Tonks said, nodding.

"Well," Harry said, "Maybe once I get everything situated and figured out, I can host a dinner party or something for the Great Alliance."

"Your birthday party, Harry," Hermione said, "We could have it there."

"Unless we're elsewhere at that time," Harry said, "Like the beach house in La Rochelle."

"Ooh, yes," Hermione said, "That does sound like a nice way to spend your birthday."

"Well, whatever you figure out," Daphne said, "I think hosting a party is a good idea. A nice way to officially introduce you to the wizarding world as Lord Potter. I like the way you think, though, when it comes to the Great Alliance. A smart way to bring together the Alliance and discuss the future of it. I'd have it take place in August, since most of the Great Alliance families spend their holidays outside the country for much of the summer."

"I'll figure out some plans for it then," Harry said.

He certainly wasn't going to tell everyone about his and Hermione's other plans – such as dealing with the Horcrux in his head, and the Locket Horcrux as well. And then there were the planned Death Eater assassinations. Yes, it would certainly be quite the busy summer.

The conversations continued on as everyone else discussed what plans they had for the summer. Luna and her father were planning on going on holiday to find some exotic creatures to write about in the Quibbler. According to Luna, they would be leaving sometime after the planned Betrothal meeting, and would be back in time for the Quidditch World Cup.

After their Betrothal meeting with Harry, Daphne and her family would be going to Italy to spend time with her grandparents on her mother's side of the family. Apparently her grandmother had fallen very ill and her mother feared this would be the last summer they would get to spend with her. Tracy would be going on holiday outside the country, but as for the destination, she was not sure yet.

Hannah would be spending part of her summer in Ireland, where her much older brother was getting married. Susan said she would likely be spending the summer at home since her Aunt was quite a busy person at her job. Harry and Hermione promised to keep in touch so she wouldn't have a boring summer, and discussed the possibility of hanging out with her and going on various excursions. Harry felt his cheeks go warm, and Hermione and the rest of the girls laughed when Susan unabashedly referred to the outings as dates.

The conversation went on after that, as the group discussed other topics. At one point, Daphne wanted to hear about the latest visit to the Chamber of Secrets, having only heard it through others aside from Harry and Hermione. After that tale was told, it rolled into a long conversation in which Harry and Hermione discussed much of what had happened to them over their first three years of Hogwarts. Mostly major events, including the Philosopher's Stone getting rescued, the Chamber of Secrets ordeal with the Basilisk, and – since Susan had already heard the tale, Harry and Hermione decided it was fair to tell the others about the Time Turner ordeal.

All of the girls were quite amazed, though they had turned shades of pale throughout much of the story. Harry felt a burden lift from his shoulders after he finished the story. Even though he couldn't tell the girls about his big secret – and probably wouldn't be able to do so until _after _Voldemort's defeat – they now knew much of what he had gone through for the first three years of his time in the wizarding world.

By the time the stories had ended, it was time for the Snack Lady to make her rounds. Harry and Hermione revealed their trove of Honeyduke's candy, which they shared with everyone. It was mutually agreed, as they gorged themselves on the candy and snacks, that it was probably better than what the Snack Lady had with her.

Once their meal of candy was finished, most of the group in the carriage fell into sugar-induced naps that lasted much of the remainder of the train ride.

* * *

As the train entered Platform Nine-And-Three Quarters, the group inside the carriage said their goodbyes, well-wishes for the summer, and promises to write frequently. Then Harry, Hermione and Tonks collected their belongings and made their way onto the Platform. Hermione had explained to Harry and Tonks that she had already written to her parents about the situation with Tonks as a bodyguard. Tonks would likely be sleeping on the couch during her stay at the Grangers, but she didn't mind at all.

Hermione pointed out her parents, and the trio made their way across the Platform. When she reached them, Hermione set down Crookshanks' carrier and hugged both her parents. Harry knew the reunion was tougher than usual for Hermione, especially since the last time she saw them, she had made them forget they ever had a daughter.

"Mum, Daddy," Hermione said, when she backed away nearly a minute later, "This is my boyfriend, Harry Potter. And this is our friend, and bodyguard I told you about, Dora Tonks. She likes to be called by her last name. Harry, Tonks, these are my parents, Drs. Daniel and Emma Granger."

"Greetings, sir, ma'am," Harry said, and Tonks echoed the same.

"I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to introduce ourselves a couple summers ago, Harry," Emma said, as she shook Harry's hand when he offered it. "Hermione's written so much about you. Seems we know you already. Isn't that right, dear?"

Daniel sized Harry up as he shook his hand. Harry did his best not to wince; Hermione's father had quite the grip!

"Call me Dan," Dan said. "Or sir. Whatever suits you. Former member of the SAS, and a dentist for nearly fifteen years now."

"Yes, yes," Emma said, "Both careers have made you a very dangerous man, one Harry should fear. I swear he practiced this in front of the bathroom sink two times last night and three times today."

Hermione giggled. Dan huffed.

"Emma, please, this is a father's duty," Dan said, then turned back to Harry, "So you are the boy who has taken my daughter's heart from me."

"Daddy!" Hermione said, "You know you'll always have my heart. You just have to learn to share it."

"I know that," Dan said, with a sigh, "I just didn't expect it to happen for a few more years. Well, come on then. Let's get going. Wait... where is your trunk, Hermione?"

Harry showed him the Undetectable Extension Bag. "Everything can fit in here. As long as it is a manageable size."

"It is like Mary Poppins traveling bag, Daddy," Hermione said.

"Oh," Emma said, "That is quite handy. Could be useful for shopping!"

"I know what to get you for Christmas then," Harry said, smiling.

"Oh, aren't you sweet?" Emma said, smiling.

Dan cleared his throat and motioned them to leave. Then he looked at Harry with an expression that said 'we'll be talking more soon enough.' Harry only smiled and followed Hermione and her parents through the crowd and toward the barrier. Tonks remained at the back of the group with her hand on her wand, which was hidden in her robes, at all times. Harry was surprised to find that Arthur Weasley had greeted his four children and he figured that Mrs. Weasley was at home with Ron.

As soon as they walked through the barrier, Harry heard an unfortunately familiar voice.

"There you are," Vernon Dursley said, "Say goodbye to your friends, so we can be off."

Vernon, Petunia and Dudley were standing together near the entrance to the platform.

"Uncle Vernon," Harry said, "I must apologize for not writing to you and letting you know. I was Emancipated recently. I no longer have to live in your house."

"But that old man," Petunia said, "Dumbledore... or whatever. He said you were required to stay with us for a few weeks this summer."

Harry sighed. So Dumbledore had contacted the Dursleys, huh? He had probably hoped that the Dursleys would force Harry to go home with them, even though he was Emancipated. What Dumbledore didn't know is that the Dursleys would jump at the chance to be rid of Harry.

"Well, he was wrong," Harry said, "I suppose this is goodbye now."

"Do you have anything you need to get from your old house, Harry?" Emma asked. "We could go there first."

"Nope," Harry said, "I have everything with me."

Vernon stared at Harry for a moment, then looked around at the others he was with. Harry thought Vernon might make a fuss about having to bother to drive from Little Whinging to London for nothing. But he must have decided it was best not to make a scene, because all he said was a simple "See you later, boy. If we're unlucky." Petunia and Dudley both said goodbye... which Harry found odd, but shrugged it off. He responded in kind, then left with Tonks, Hermione and her parents.

He hoped it would be the last time he'd see the Dursleys. But he knew he just wasn't that lucky.

* * *

**Chapter finished! So this was basically another filler chapter to finish off the end of third year. Hope you liked it!**

**So "Dan and Emma" won the poll by a lot of votes. I never used these names for Hermione's parents in a story, so this will take a bit to get used to. If you ever see me use Richard and Helen (which I usually use) just let me know.**

**Next Chapter: Harry and company arrive at the Granger home. Harry and Hermione have a discussion with her parents, and Harry has a solo talk with Dan, while Hermione has one with Emma. And more!**

**I suppose I should note that this will be a VERY long summer. Maybe ten chapters, perhaps more, perhaps less. I have so many things planned. I know some of my readers had hoped that it would only last two or three chapters, so we could move onto fourth year, but it just isn't going to happen. Too much happens during the summer! It will be very exciting!**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I need to research a bit on the SAS so I can get Dan's "former SAS Soldier and all-around tough guy" persona correct! Any suggestions (such as what Dan might talk about or show off to Harry) would be helpful from my British readers!**


	15. Meet The Grangers, Part 1

**Chapter 15  
Meet The Grangers, Part 1  
**

**Author's Note: Yes you saw that title correctly. This is Part 1 of a two part chapter. I was thinking about this chapter as I got to what is now the end, and I realized, there is a lot left in what I had planned. If I had all of it in this chapter, it would be quite long. So I split it up.**

* * *

The trip from London to Crawley, where the Grangers lived, would take between one and two hours, depending on the traffic, when driving the speed limit in the family's four-door Cadillac. Harry was sitting in the back-seat of, between Hermione and Tonks, as it made its way down the motorways through England.

The best thing about Dan Granger driving, in Harry's opinion, was that he kept his eyes on the road most of the time. However, when he had to look behind the car, whenever he wanted to make a safe merge onto another lane, he always seemed to look through the rear-view mirror instead of the side-view. This allowed him to keep an eye on Harry and his daughter. It would have been funny if Harry didn't have a case of bad nerves. He was about to spend two weeks with his girlfriend's parents. While Hermione had talked about them a lot, this had been the first time he had ever really met them long enough to have a conversation. Emma Granger seemed to realize this, because she started a conversation with him before they had even left London.

"So, Harry," Emma said, "Forgive me, but I couldn't help notice the tension between you and your... relatives, were they?"

"Uncle, Aunt and cousin," Harry said, "My mother's sister. I suppose tension would be a good term for it. My relatives and I never really got along, even though I lived with them since I was fifteen months old. It is a rather long story. Let's just say that I was never really considered part of the family. Aunt Petunia was always quite jealous about my mother being a witch, even from an early age. And she couldn't quite get over such petty jealousy. My relatives refused to tell me that I was a wizard. They tried to keep my Hogwarts letter from me. It was Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts Groundskeeper, and new Care of Magical Creatures Professor, who told me I was a wizard."

"You've met Hagrid before," Hermione said, to her parents, "He broke up that fight between Mr. Weasley and Lucius Malfoy."

"Oh yes," Emma said, "Large fellow. Gentle though. Quite nice."

"He's a good friend," Harry said. "Anyway, my relatives never really wanted to take guardianship of me. Only recently did I discover that they never should have had guardianship to begin with."

"Oh?" Emma asked.

"Recently," Harry said, "I read my parents' Final Will and Testament which had been made around the time I was born, and updated about a week or so before their deaths. In the Will, they said I was supposed to live with one of a number of different people or families, none of which were my mother's sister or her family. Actually my Mum explicitly stated that I should not live with my Aunt."

"Your parents' Will was ignored?" Dan asked, frowning, "Isn't that illegal?"

"If it isn't illegal in wizarding society, then it is frowned upon," Tonks said, "However, the loopholes are easy to get around for those who know how to do it. The Goblins of Gringotts have control of many official Documents, such as Wills and Contracts – mostly because they can be explicitly impartial. However, there are usually witnesses who are at the proceedings of the Will's creation. It is usually left to the Witness to make sure the Will is opened."

"The problem with that," Harry said, "is who the witness was. Albus Dumbledore."

"The Headmaster of your school?" Emma asked, raising her eyebrows, "Why is that a problem?"

"Because he deliberately disobeyed my parents' Will," Harry said, "Simply because he decided his opinion was better. Apparently when my mother sacrificed herself for me, there was some sort of magic transferred to me. It is what kept me alive the night my parents died, you see. Well, Dumbledore apparently believed that as long as I was with someone blood-related to my mother, then I would be protected from Dark wizards who wished to harm me. Oh, I was truly safe from Dark wizards who wished to harm me. It did nothing to protect me from my relatives' abuse."

"Abuse?" Dan asked, narrowing his eyes, "What kind of abuse?"

Harry winced when he realized he had said too much. He looked at Hermione, who gave him an encouraging smile. Harry sighed and continued.

"The Dursley's house had four bedrooms," Harry said, "One for my Aunt and Uncle, one for a guest – usually my Uncle's sister – and two, yes two, for my cousin they doted upon. One was his bedroom and the other was a storage room where he stored his broken and unwanted toys. My early eleventh birthday present was that I finally got to stay in Dudley's second bedroom. Prior to that, I stayed in a small cupboard under the stairs, where I slept, played and basically lived in for most of the time, especially during punishment for doing something freakish or abnormal."

Harry wasn't sure why he was admitting all of this. He certainly didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him. Did he want his girlfriend's parents to get to know him a bit? Perhaps.

"I always wondered," Dan murmured, then cleared his throat. "The first time I saw you, you looked smaller than your average twelve year old. Shorter and skinnier. I'm sure that cupboard stunted your growth. How many meals a day did you get?"

Harry sighed. "Two, maybe three, on occasion. Most were meager, even though I cooked much of it. Sometimes as punishment I went without meals for a day or two, or had cans of cold soup."

"Your Uncle and cousin sure looked like they ate three meals a day," Dan huffed, "Maybe more."

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Harry said, "I know what you are going to say. I should turn them over to authorities. Normally, I would completely agree with you. But I would rather just put it past me. if I am lucky, I never have to see them again. I am an Emancipated Minor, and hopefully soon enough my Godfather – who I should have lived with all these years if I couldn't have my parents – will be a free man and I can live with him."

"He was in prison?" Emma asked.

"Remember the reports about the fugitive on the news last summer?" Hermione asked, "Sirius Black? That is Harry's Godfather. We recently found out he is completely innocent of his crimes. Framed for everything."

"I remember that!" Emma said, "They said he was dangerous. The pictures they put up showed a pretty deranged individual."

"That is what spending over a decade in Azkaban will do to you," Tonks said. "The guards aren't human. They literally suck all the happiness out of you. All the good memories, leaving you with the most horrible moments of your life."

"Muggles can't even see them," Hermione said.

Dan whistled. "Something like that could give even the grittiest of the SAS the willies!"

"Sirius Black is only dangerous to those who cross him," Harry said, "In this case, that would be Voldemort -" Tonks shuddered slightly, "the Death Eaters, and Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew was a former best friend of Sirius and my parents. He betrayed my parents and is responsible for the crimes that sent Sirius to prison. Sirius escaped Azkaban – the first person ever to do it – because he realized that Pettigrew was a threat to me. You see, Pettigrew is an Animagus. He can turn into a rat. For twelve years, Pettigrew lived as Scabbers the rat – who belonged to the Weasleys."

"Your friend's family?" Emma asked.

"Former friend," Hermione said, then when her parents looked at her curiously, she continued, "We'll talk about that latter. It is not for casual conversation in the family car."

"So," Dan said, "This Pettigrew bloke – you're saying he lived as a rat for twelve years? Rats only live for four to six years if they're lucky, even the healthiest of rats. How on earth did they not notice something strange?"

"They should have noticed something," Tonks said, "Animagus Revealing Spells are easy to accomplish, but it was never done to Pettigrew whilst he was living with the Weasleys."

"It does certainly seem peculiar," Harry said. "Just one of many questions that have recently come up about our former best friend and his family. Anyway, Pettigrew, as a rat, was at Hogwarts with Ron, in our dormitory. Pettigrew could have killed me at any time. It was only because he is a coward that he didn't do it. But my godfather escaped prison to come and find Pettigrew before the man tried to do something to me."

"Well, Harry," Emma said, "While I am against letting your relatives get away with such abuse over several years, I suppose we will respect your decision. Know that it is very hard for me to say that, however. As someone who works in the medical field, it is common practice – almost a requirement - to report such abuse to authorities. It gives me much relief to know you'll never spend another day with them."

"Thank you for keeping it confidential," Harry said. "I rarely ever open up about such things."

"Not at all surprising in cases like yours," Emma said. "I'm just happy that you've grown up to be quite a polite and nice young man, especially since you didn't have the best role models to teach you."

"Thanks," Harry said. "That means a lot to me, Mrs. Granger."

"Oh, please, Harry," Emma said, "Call me Emma. Mrs. Granger makes me sound so old."

"So, Emma, Hermione has told me a bit about the two of you," Harry said, as he glanced from Hermione then back to her parents, "But not as much as she could have. You said she's told you much about me. I feel at a bit of a disadvantage."

"Well, let's see," Emma said, "How about we start from the beginning, when two individuals became a couple and eventually a family. Dan and I have been married for about sixteen years, and we dated for a couple years prior to that. We met as fellow students at a school for future doctors and dentists. Dan had been in the SAS for four years prior, two of which were in medical training, so it was no surprise he was at the top of the class. And then there was me. I wanted to work in the medical field; it was a dream of mine for much of my life. However, I had many doubts. I was terrified of the sight of blood, and didn't know how to treat animals. What was left but dentistry? Didn't know half of what I was doing though. So one of our teachers assigned me a tutor, which just so happened to be a fellow student and the smartest one in the class... Daniel."

Harry saw Dan's smile of reminiscence on his face, through the reflection of the rear-view window. Emma looked over her shoulder and glanced from Harry, then Hermione, then back to Harry.

"If Hermione ever told you she got her brains from me," she said, "she lied to you. I won't disagree that she got her good looks from me -" Daniel huffed playfully, and Hermione, Harry and Tonks chuckled. "- but she got her brains from her father."

"I volunteered to be her tutor," Dan said, "Simply because I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Didn't really have anything to do with the fact that I could help her learn the ropes. Three tutoring sessions later, I finally got the nerve to ask her out. I had been this brave, gritty SAS bloke, and here I was afraid to ask a pretty girl out."

"A year and a half later, the evening after we got our degrees to become dentists," Emma said, "he asked me to marry him, and I said yes in between the happy tears. Six months later, we got married. Two months after that, we started the same dentistry we've had for sixteen years. A month after we started our business, I got pretty sick and went to the hospital. Turns out I had a miscarriage. Didn't even know I was pregnant. You might have heard that such events can cause women to become depressed. Certainly didn't pass me by. For weeks and months I blamed myself. I am in the medical field - why didn't I know I was pregnant, even if that isn't my specific line of work?"

She sighed audibly and looked at her husband. "It was Dan who broke me out of the depression and saved our marriage. He promised me we would have a child."

"And I was right," Dan said as he smiled at Hermione through the rear-view window.

"You were right," Emma said, "September of 1979 came and Hermione was born after a rather tough pregnancy, and even tougher bout of childbirth. Found out a few days later that Hermione would be our only child. You would think depression would hit me again, that I would have blamed myself for not being able to give Hermione a sibling. Truth is, we realized we were blessed just to be able to have Hermione in our life. She's our miracle."

Harry looked at Hermione, who smiled as her eyes became quite misty. Thoughts swam through Harry's head. Up until now, he never truly realized just how big of a sacrifice Hermione had made when she had made her parents forget about her. How hard it must have been to make this loving, sweet couple – two people she loved more than life itself - believe they had never been able to have a child they had hoped for?

Back when she had first told him what she had done, he had thanked her for making the sacrifice. But 'thank you' never really said enough, did it? He now realized how much she truly loved him. To have done such a thing to her parents, so she could force herself to join the hunt with him to find the Horcruxes. It was at that moment he vowed he would never doubt her love for him. How could he? When she had learned such love from her parents?

"Tonks, was it?" Dan asked.

"You can call me Dora or Tonks," Tonks said, "Both are alright with me. Full name is Nymphadora, but I hate that name. I don't know what my mother was thinking when she gave me that name."

"Hermione said in her last letter that you recently became a bodyguard for both her and Harry," Dan said, "Could you explain that?"

"Initially it was just Harry," Tonks said, "But since Hermione means so much to Harry, as a friend and boyfriend, then I was assigned to be her bodyguard as well. That Pettigrew bloke Harry mentioned earlier. He is a fugitive on the run, and considered quite dangerous. Since Pettigrew betrayed Harry's parents, it was thought that he would target Harry as well. Albus Dumbledore is also an apparent threat to both Harry and Hermione."

"I know what you're thinking, Mum, Daddy," Hermione said, "I used to tell you that Albus Dumbledore was a pretty great man. Recently we learned that might not exactly be true anymore. He seems to believe that Harry has some kind of destiny about him. Because of this, we think Dumbledore wants to use Harry as some kind of Chosen One to defeat those who align themselves with the Dark Arts. Dumbledore would do anything to get what he wants. Even try to control Harry – perhaps even make him a sacrifice."

"I think Dumbledore placed me with the Dursleys," Harry said, "because he knew I wouldn't be treated as well as I could have been with a more loving family. I grew up with no friends before I went to Hogwarts. I was shy and lacked self-confidence. Dumbledore likely hoped that I would see him as this grandfatherly mentor-type figure and do anything he wanted me to do, because he sent me an invitation to this magical school and a whole new world."

"The perfect recipe for a weapon or a sacrifice," Dan said. "Is that enough to arrest someone in the wizarding world?"

"Perhaps," Tonks said, "Except the Minister of Magic gave Dumbledore a pardon for the next year or so. A big event is happening next year at Hogwarts, and Minister Fudge wants Dumbledore to be a part of it. Also, if news got out that the Headmaster of Hogwarts was involved in something sinister or criminal, the bigwigs in the International Confederation of Wizards might move this big event outside of Britain to a different school. Minister Fudge doesn't want that to happen."

"Sounds like a load of corruption in high places to me," Dan said.

"That might be pretty close to the truth," Tonks said.

"Hermione, be honest with me," Dan said, "How would you feel if we moved out of Britain and you went to a different school? Somewhere that wasn't run by an apparently manipulative Headmaster. Take note that since Harry is Emancipated, he could come with us if it came to that."

"There are reasons we need to remain at Hogwarts, Daddy," Hermione said. "I can't exactly explain them very well at the moment. But... in addition to Harry, so much good has happened to me at Hogwarts. I've made many friends and I love my classes. Aside from a few issues that aren't too grand, everything is great."

"That is what I thought," Dan said, sighing. "It was just a thought. Just know that I'm not exactly thrilled with you attending a school in which its Headmaster seems to have his own agenda for one of his students, outside of the normal educational sense."

"We know how to deal with Dumbledore, Daddy," Hermione said.

"Nobody will bother her as long as I am around, sir," Harry said.

"Same goes for me," Tonks said, "Besides, in a year or so, the pardon will be lifted and Dumbledore will be a wanted man."

"I'm not sure if that makes me feel better or worse," Dan said.

Harry looked at Hermione and she smiled at him, though he could see a hint of nervousness in her expression. He knew she hadn't been entirely truthful to her parents about Dumbledore. But he knew she wasn't about to tell them that Dumbledore had apparently attempted to kill her several times, simply because she was Harry's friend. That would certainly make Hermione's parents pull her out of Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione _needed _to go to Hogwarts in order for their end-game to defeat Voldemort would work.

It was nearing eight-o-clock in the evening when they finally arrived in the city of Crawley. Before they made their way to the Granger's home, they stopped by a local pizza shoppe, and ordered a couple of gourmet pizzas for dinner that evening.

At a quarter-past-eight, they finally pulled into the driveway of the Granger's home. Harry stepped out of the car, then grabbed the Undetectable Extension Bag and Hedwig's cage, then he took his first look at the house. It was beautiful two-and-a-half story brick house with an attic at the top. Large windows covered much of the front of the house, and shades hid the interior from view. Six-foot hedges and fences surrounded the front and back yard, allowing privacy. Dan and Emma led Harry, Hermione and Tonks toward the front door, past a nice lawn and a flower bed which lined the front of the house. All-in-all, it seemed like a nice family home for an upper-class family of two long-time dentists and their daughter.

As Harry followed Dan and Emma inside, he found that the bottom floor of the house looked eerily similar to Number Four, Privet Drive. To his left, there was an archway which led into the family sitting room. Ahead of them, at the end of the hallway, there was another door. To the right there was a stairway that led to the upper floor. Instead of a cupboard under the stairs, there were a large door.

"Welcome to our humble home," Dan addressed Harry and Tonks, "Unfortunately we only have one guest room upstairs – that will be Harry's room during his stay. However, Tonks, one of the couches in the sitting room pulls out to a bed. You can either choose that or we can fix up something in the basement downstairs."

"The pull-out bed sounds lovely," Tonks said.

"Just as well," Emma said, "The basement – through that doorway under the stairs - is Dan's den, basically. His pride and joy. If he is home, and you can't find him, he'll usually be down there. Hermione, show Harry the second floor and where he'll be sleeping for the next two weeks. You can unpack now or later. Hurry though. You'll want some of this pizza before it cools off."

"Alright, Mum," Hermione said, "Come on, Harry."

Harry followed Hermione up the stairs. The bathroom was the first room they came to – the door situated nearly right in front of the stairs.

"This is the family bathroom," Hermione explained. "Mum and Daddy's bedroom at the end of the hallway has their own little private bathroom as well. My room is on the left side, here, with a window showing the front of the house. And the guest room – your room – has a nice view of the backyard."

"Our rooms are right across from each other, huh?" Harry said. "Interesting."

"Don't get any ideas," Hermione said, "Mum and Daddy can hear the doors open and close quite easily. Though I will have to convince them to allow us to spend time together in our rooms. Especially since we're going to practice Occlumency. I'm sure they'll be okay with it as long as the door is open. Come on inside. I need to get my things from your bag anyway."

Harry followed Hermione into her bedroom. Hermione set Crookshanks' carrier down and opened it up. An orange blur sped from the carrier with a meow and Crookshanks ran out of the room.

"Probably has to use the bathroom, poor thing," Hermione said, with a giggle.

Harry handed her the Undetectable Extension bag and she began pulling out her trunk and other belongings.

"I have a feeling we're going to have a very interesting conversation with Mum and Daddy," Hermione said. "We need to tell them at least three important things. Ron's betrayal – though I think we'll avoid the topic of what he did when I was Petrified. Second... Remember Luna's invitation that included my parents? We're going to have to tell them about your Betrothals."

Harry coughed. "Are you sure? I thought you were hoping to avoid that conversation."

"It seems like the only way," Hermione said. "I know how to explain it. Yes, there will be some issues. But it has to happen. We have to explain everything to them; including the whole Polygamy thing."

"I know how you feel about it, Hermione," Harry said, "Your opinions of it will lead to them realizing you're in this for the long run."

"I know that," Hermione said, "And I am not afraid to admit it to them. However, it is the third thing that will be even worse than the Betrothal discussion. I – er – haven't exactly told them too much about what I've been through at Hogwarts yet. Not at this point anyway."

"Surely they know about you being Petrified at least?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head, "they know nothing about it. I was too afraid that they would take me away from Hogwarts... away from you. You heard Daddy's question in the car."

"Yeah," Harry said, "Well... alright. I'll be right beside you supporting you through the whole discussion. And adding anything I can. I can think of a few things to say."

"Thanks," Hermione said, smiling; she handed him back the bag. "Better go and unpack your things. Daddy will probably come up here, if we're not downstairs before too long. There is a desk near the window that would be a perfect spot for Hedwig's cage. Remember, we're in a Muggle neighborhood again, so..."

"Only let her out at night," Harry said, nodding.

"It will only be for a couple of weeks, Hedwig," Hermione said, smiling at the owl, who hooted at her from her cage.

Harry smiled, turned and walked across the hallway into the guest bedroom. The walls were covered with a light-blue wallpaper, the same as Hermione's own bedroom. He was beginning to understand her preference for favorite colors. The bed was as big as the one in his bedroom in the Lord's Quarters at Hogwarts. He and Hermione would fit comfortably on it during Occlumency practice. Harry's mind filled with visions at the thought of Hermione on his bed, and he shook them away for now. He walked over to the desk Hermione had mentioned and set Hedwig's cage on it. Then he walked over to the window and opened it , then opened Hedwig's cage.

"This is new territory for you, girl," Harry said, "So be careful."

Hedwig hooted and flew out the window. Harry then proceeded to pull his trunk out of the bag, as well as a few clothes which he stored in a dresser. He realized he needed to go shopping soon for some summer clothes; he certainly didn't want to wear any of Dudley's hand-me-downs around the Grangers. He decided he would send a letter to Ragnok tomorrow and schedule a date for a good time to come in and see the Healers and the harvesters. When he had that date settled, he would write to Sirius and Remus and tell them he would be in the area on that given day.

When he finished unpacking, he walked back out into the hall. From the footsteps in Hermione's room, he knew she was still unpacking. Then he heard someone clearing their throat and he jumped and turned. Dan was standing near the stairs.

"Come with me," he said, "I'd like to show you a few things."

Harry nodded, hoping he didn't show how nervous he was. He knew the man wanted to have that father-to-boyfriend talk. He followed Dan down to the bottom level.

"You can grab a couple slices of pizza if you wish," Dan said.

Harry nodded and followed Dan into the combination kitchen and dining room. Emma and Tonks were sitting at the kitchen, laughing about something. Emma smiled when she saw Harry.

"Come sit down, boys," she said, "Tonks was just telling me a few things about the wizarding world."

"Not just yet," Dan said, "I'm going to show Harry the den."

"Now, Daniel?" Emma asked, "Can't it wait?"

"When is a better time than now?" Dan asked.

"Behave yourself," Emma said, in a warning tone, "Or Hermione will have a few words to say to you."

"I promise," Dan said.

Harry placed a couple slices of three meat and cheese pizza on a plate, then followed Dan out of the kitchen. Dan opened the door under the stairway, and led him down some stairs and into a very large room. The left half of the room was much like a sitting room, except it also had a drink bar along a wall as well, There was even a billiards table and a dartboard on a wall near the bar. On the right side of the room, in one corner, there was an office like setting with a desk and various file drawers. But it was the other corner that intrigued Harry. Against the walls there were various glass cases that resembled that of a jewelry shop. On the walls above the cases, there were pictures and various other items including what appeared to be certificates and medals. Much of the room was also a weight-room, with various machines for strength exercises. There were also three hay-bales with targets set at different distances, as well as a mannequin like figure.

"Do you know what the SAS is, Harry?" Dan said, as he led the young man across the room toward the glass cases.

"They're like the elite army, sir," Harry said; he had once heard Mad-Eye Moody say that the SAS were even more terrifying than the Aurors and Death Eaters combined.

"British Special Forces," Dan said, "You'll hear a lot of people call the SAS 'Sports And Social'. I was in the SAS for roughly four years. Two of those years, I was working in medical. Some of the things I saw – well, it is the reason I changed careers and became a dentist. But it was the first two years that were the difficult part. There is training and boot camp, and then there is the Special Forces. There are a few things I am not so good at. I'll admit that right now. Automatic weapons – not my cup of tea. Pistols? I can shoot one and I am licensed to carry one. If a burglar decides to walk into my house, I am trained to shoot them if I have to. But my specialty... was knife-throwing, and to this day I am still pretty good at it."

He motioned to the glass cases, and Harry looked inside. There were several knives of all shapes and sizes beneath the glass cases. Each looked quite deadly.

"To this day, I train at least two times a week," Dan said, "Just to make sure my accuracy is top-notch. Much of my knowledge and skill in this came from before I was in the SAS. Back then I was a young man who thought I was the coolest guy on the planet. I would barhop various locations every weekend. I would play billiards and darts with patrons in the bars. I was very good at darts. Very accurate. One day, this punk kid thought I hustled him on a game of billiards. I got into a fight with him, and broke his jaw and busted his knee-cap. Could have gone to jail for assault, but I was given another option. Serve my country. The arrogant bloke I was back then chose one option and one only."

"The Special Forces," Harry said.

"The SAS," Dan said, nodding, "Got my ass handed to me so many times. But it made me a different man. My skills in darts helped me to become an excellent knife thrower. But because I lacked the necessary skills in gun fighting, I was given other offers. So I chose to work in the medical field. The things I saw during my time... I will never forget it. Haunted me even after I left the SAS. When I left, I had two choices. Return to being that punk kid hopping bars and playing darts, or make something of myself. But I couldn't be a doctor. I'd likely freeze up during surgery and probably kill a patient, all because of flashbacks to what I saw in the SAS. So I chose a safer route: dentistry. Changed my life in more ways than one. You're probably wondering why I am telling you this. You're also probably thinking it is to make you see just how dangerous I can be."

"I suppose so, sir," Harry said.

"The SAS changed me as a person," Dan said, "Being a dentist puts food on the table, and allows me do something with my life, and have a bit of leisurely fun along the way. But it is my wife and daughter who changed my life. And I would do anything to protect them. Something tells me we're not so different from each other."

"Sir?" Harry asked, unsure of what he meant.

"Hermione hasn't told me and her Mum much about her life amongst the wizards and witches," Dan said, "When she writes home, she talks about two things. Education... and you. I know she is keeping things from us. I know she has secrets she is afraid to tell us. She doesn't want me to take her out of Hogwarts. She can say she doesn't want to leave because she loves Hogwarts. I don't think it is Hogwarts that keeps her returning every year."

He raised his eyebrows as he looked at Harry, then he sighed and continued. "During her first year at Hogwarts, she talked a lot about you. About how you were apparently this boy whose parents were murdered by some evil wizard. The fact that you went through some tragedies at such a young age... well, it made me wonder what type of life you grew up with. Then she talked about how good you were. How you were the best friend she's ever had, and she hadn't had many. Young children, school-age children can be so petty and –well – childish about many things. When they see a girl like my Hermione who was smart and studious and the top of their class, they got jealous. Hermione didn't have very many friends before she went to Hogwarts. Characters in books were her best friends. That first letter she wrote home to me, after you became her friend... I still remember it. I remember seeing a different kind of happiness coming from my daughter's words. But I tried to deny it. I tried to deny what it really meant."

He looked up at the ceiling, then back at Harry. "Emma saw it. Emma saw what I refused to see. My little girl had a fancy. My little girl was slowly falling in love. I was no longer the love of her life. Tonight in the car, I saw the way she looked at you. I saw the way you looked at her. I saw flashbacks of how Emma and I looked at each other when we were first dating. Hermione has found the one for her, Harry. Don't break her heart."

"I promise that will never be in my intentions, sir," Harry said. "I never really grew up, knowing love. I never grew up with friends. I've found both of those with your daughter."

"You sound like a boy much older than your thirteen years, Harry," Dan said, smiling.

Harry blushed; technically he was older. He just couldn't admit that to Dan.

"But that is not surprising," Dan said, "The way you grew up requires a certain toughness. You had to learn how to survive with a family who didn't want you. Most of the time, that would scare the hell out of me. I would expect to see the same punk kid I was. Even though I was never in your shoes, that kind of scenario turns a person into – well – not a very nice guy because that is how they were raised. But you... you have a maturity about you. The same way my daughter is more mature than her fourteen years should allow. I can see why Emma already adores you."

Harry blinked and blushed. Dan smiled.

"You doubt me?" he asked. "Know this, Harry. Emma would have not told you about our struggles before Hermione came into our lives, if she did not adore you already. I think she'll be just as upset as Hermione would be if you two ever split up."

"I can't see myself without her," Harry said. "No matter what you might discover, know that I could see myself with her for the long run."

Dan raised his eyebrows. "Something you're not telling me, Harry?"

"That discussion is best to happen with your wife and daughter in the room too," Harry said.

Dan stared at Harry for a moment, then nodded. "Alright."

Harry bit into a slice of pizza, thinking about what Dan said. He broke from those thoughts when he heard a _thwacking _sound. He blinked and looked toward the direction of the sound. A knife was sticking out of the chest of the mannequin – it hadn't been there a second before. Harry's eyes widened. The mannequin was at least twenty feet away, and the knife seemed quite embedded into the body. Harry turned toward Dan, who had a wry smile on his face.

"I could teach you how to do that," Dan said.

"Would it help with my wand accuracy and dueling, do you reckon?" Harry asked.

Dan adopted a thoughtful look. "Perhaps. I'll see what Hermione and that Tonks woman thinks. Tonks is a Cadet in the... Aurors was it?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "They fight and capture dark wizards. It might be something I want to do."

"Well then," Dan said, "Even if you don't learn how to throw knives, there is still plenty I could do that might prepare you for that kind of stuff."

"I think I could do that," Harry said, nodding.

"Excellent," Dan said, "Let's return to the dining room before my wife or daughter decides to come looking for us. I don't know who scares me more!"

Harry laughed. He was beginning to like Hermione's father. He just hoped Dan felt the same way about him.

* * *

**So that ends part one. I thought it was a good place to end it. There is so much more I wanted to write, but if I did, it would make this chapter much too long. So the rest will be next chapter.**

**Next chapter: Hermione talks to her mother about Harry. Then Hermione and Harry discuss a few things with her parents, including those three topics she mentioned in this chapter.**

**Hope you enjoyed this one.**


	16. Meet The Grangers, Part 2

**Chapter 16  
Meet The Grangers, Part 2  
**

**Author's Note: This chapter begins a few minutes before the last one ended.**

* * *

Hermione left her bedroom and checked the guest bedroom for Harry. When she found it empty, she made her way downstairs to the combination kitchen and dining room. Her mother and Tonks were sitting at the table. Harry and her father were nowhere to be seen. Hermione had a bad feeling about that. Tonks was transforming her face into different animal shapes and Emma was laughing at each of them.

"Did you know she could do this, Hermione?" Emma asked. "It is very funny."

"She did it during every meal in the Great Hall for the past week," Hermione said, "After students started getting used to it, she did it while they were eating so she could see if they could do a spit-take."

"And it worked!" Tonks said, "Quite a few times."

"Yes, to the point where it became disgusting," Hermione said, with an uncharacteristic snort as she sat down at the table, "Where are Harry and Daddy?"

"In the basement," Emma said, "I believe they're having the 'father and boyfriend' discussion."

"Oh bother," Hermione muttered, "I think I should go rescue Harry."

"Oh, give them a few minutes, dear," Emma said, "I already warned your father that you would yell at him if he did anything to Harry."

Hermione sighed and nodded, then grabbed a piece of pizza from one of the boxes.

"Besides," Emma said, "This gives us time to talk about that young man."

Hermione swallowed a bite of pizza then groaned. "Do we have to, Mum?"

"Would you rather discuss it with your father in the room?" Emma asked.

"No," Hermione said, in a small voice.

"I've seen the way you look at him, Hermione," Emma said. "You're already deeply in love with the boy."

"Yes, Mum," Hermione said, "I am."

"I'd also say Harry feels the same way about you," Emma said. "The way he looks at you is the same way your father looks at me. Have you said those three little words to him yet?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "A few times. And so has he."

Emma smiled. "If the two of you were any other young teenagers, I might have felt a little wary about such things. But you both have such a maturity of someone twice your age. However, this is your first romantic relationship. Is it his?"

Hermione nodded. Technically Viktor had been her first boyfriend, and Cho had been Harry's first girlfriend, then he dated Ginny. But since that happened in a different timeline, it technically hadn't happened. So from her mother's point-of-view, Hermione and Harry were each other's first romantic partners. The thought was rather nice to think about.

"Do you see this as a long-term relationship?" Emma asked.

"I can see him being my one and only," Hermione said. "There's nobody better than him for me."

Emma smiled. "I will admit that I would not be sad if he was my future son-in-law."

Hermione felt her cheeks grow warm. "I kind of thought so. I know you wouldn't have told that story about your early life with Daddy before I came along, if you didn't like Harry as much as you do."

"True," Emma said. "Well, if he is your one and only, then you made a very good choice. I think your father would agree, though he might not say it out loud. With that said, I do remember what it was like being a teenager. I did have a boyfriend – well – not when I was your age, but a couple years older. I'll tell you the same thing your grandparents told me. Bedroom doors open at all times. And if you are cuddled up together – say on the couch, or the hammock outside, know that myself or your father will probably be keeping an eye on you."

Hermione blushed. "We'll be on our best behavior, Mum."

"I doubt it," Emma said, grinning, "Like I said, I know what it was like being a teenager with a boyfriend."

"You are so much cooler than my Mum," Tonks said. "She placed enchantments on my bedroom door that repelled boys. She didn't know what to do the summer I brought home a girlfriend the year I decided to experiment."

Hermione coughed and Tonks snickered.

"I also think it is time to have the other half of that talk we decided to put off when you had your first period," Emma said.

"Can it wait, Mum?" Hermione asked, "For one thing, I'm eating. For another... Harry and Daddy could come up at any second."

_For another, _Hermione thought, _I technically already had this discussion with you. But I can't let you know that at this particular point in time. Not until we achieve what must be done._

"It can wait until we have ensured privacy," Emma said, smiling. "Do you know if Harry has had the talk yet?"

Hermione pondered this. While Harry never specifically said anything to her, she wondered if Mr. Weasley, Sirius or Remus had ever talked to him about it. Sirius would likely joke around about it. Mr. Weasley and Remus seemed like the better candidates. And then Hermione realized what her mother was suggesting.

"Please don't make Daddy talk to him about that," Hermione said, "He'd be mortified, especially since I would be the subject of that talk... though it wouldn't happen until the distant future, of course."

"Of course," Emma said, smiling. "Are there other men in Harry's life that can have that talk with him."

"I can think of a couple," Hermione said.

"I'll convince your father to leave that out of his discussions with Harry," Emma said. "Actually it might make him quite relieved, since he'd probably be thinking along the same lines as you about who Harry's eventual partner would be in those events."

Hermione blushed and nodded.

"Moving on then," Emma said, "Am I correct to assume that when Harry leaves here in a couple of weeks, that you'll go with him?"

"I think so," Hermione said, shrugging. "Depends on what plans we have for the summer. This is the first summer where he gets to do what he wants. I know he wants to spend time with his godfather if – when – he obtains his freedom. They'll likely go to Potter Manor. Also, he's never been on a holiday before. He's talking about going to his beach house in La Rochelle, France, that he recently discovered he owns – part of an inheritance from his parents."

"A manor _and_ a beach-house?" Emma asked.

"His family is old money," Hermione said, "That doesn't matter to me, but at least it tells me if, or perhaps when it comes to that, we'd have no problems with any future family."

Emma nodded, then looked thoughtful. "France, huh? Well, if you visit their clothing-optional beaches, just don't let your father find out."

"Mum!" Hermione gasped, as her cheeks went warm.

Tonks snickered and Emma only smiled. Before Hermione could reply, she heard footsteps coming from the hallway. She looked over her shoulder just in time to see Harry and her father enter the kitchen.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione asked, "Do I have to yell at Daddy?"

"We had a nice discussion," Harry said, "Your father showed me his knife-throwing talents."

"Oh, Daniel, you didn't?" Emma asked.

"It was one knife," Dan said.

Emma narrowed her eyes. "You threw it at the mannequin, didn't you?"

"Embedded the knife in its chest from twenty feet away," Harry said, "Pretty brilliant."

"At least he didn't aim it any further down," Emma said, sighing, "He likes doing that."

Hermione and Tonks snickered when Harry walked a bit funny over to the table. He sat next to Hermione as Dan sat next to his wife.

"So," Dan said, "Did we miss anything up here?"

"Girl talk," Emma said, "We talked about parameters when it came to public display of affection. Open doors if they're in the bedrooms together, and if they cuddle on the couch or hammock, we'll probably be watching from a distance. Oh, and we also talked about clothing-optional beaches."

Harry coughed and spluttered.

"Mum!" Hermione groaned, "Don't embarrass him. It barely came up, Harry. I told her about our plans to visit your beach house in France, and she asked if we were going to visit one of those beaches."

"I'm just going to keep quiet about such things," Harry said.

"Smart lad," Dan said. "By the way, Hermione, Tonks – Harry brought up an interesting question, and I wondered if either of you could answer it. Do you reckon knife-throwing would help with dueling and accuracy using a wand? Obviously I've never used one before, so I didn't know how to answer."

"It wouldn't help with accuracy," Tonks said, "Knife-throwing and spell-casting are two very different things. But it might help with speed and stamina. I imagine knife-throwing would also be handy back-up in case you get disarmed. Most witches and wizards wouldn't expect it. They're all too strung-up on wands being the ultimate weapon – that or wandless magic."

"Well, then," Dan said, "I think it would be a good idea to train both of you in knife-throwing."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. Her father had _never _offered her such a thing before, in either timeline.

"In the Auror Corps, we mostly did jogging and exercising to help with speed and stamina," Tonks said, "It also helped us control our adrenaline rush, which can cause mistakes in long duels if you underestimate it. No, what really helps spell-casting and dueling – well, in school, prior to Hogwarts, did you learn how to write in cursive?"

"Yes," Hermione said, and Harry nodded.

"Demonstrate writing in cursive in mid-air," Tonks said.

Hermione did as was instructed. Then her eyes widened. "It is like casting spells! I can't believe I never made that connection before!"

"It was a Muggleborn Auror Cadet who came up with that technique," Tonks said, "Aside from being taught, or teaching themselves, to sign their own name, most witches and wizards don't use cursive writing. But those who do, find spell-casting much easier."

"I can understand that," Dan said, nodding. "So I would imagine when it comes to exercises in the Auror Corps, it isn't much different than Muggle training?"

"I suppose not," Tonks said. "Though we do use magic to guide us through some techniques. But most witches and wizards have never used gym equipment such as treadmills and weights. Sit-ups, pull-ups, jumping jacks, jogging, broom flying... that is the our physical training. Which reminds me. I need to start jogging again every morning. I've been putting it off for the last week."

"The neighborhoods around here are perfect for jogging," Dan said, "I do it quite often when I don't have to be at work too early. I think that would work for you too, Harry. It would give you a nice workout, before you do other kinds of training in the basement."

"Alright," Harry agreed.

"I might join you," Hermione said.

"One problem though," Harry said, "I don't have any proper clothing for something like that. Actually I need a whole new wardrobe."

"Well, that is easy," Emma said, "We can go shopping tomorrow for clothes. I'm sure Hermione needs a few new outfits."

"I could use some," Hermione said.

"Unfortunately I have no – ah – normal money with me," Harry said. "I can get some if we go to Gringotts, but I wasn't planning on going there until sometime next week. I have a few promised meetings with some of the Goblins."

"Oh, don't worry about it," Emma said, "We'll pay for everything tomorrow, and you can always pay us back when you go to the bank."

"Alright," Harry said, with a nod, "Thanks."

"No problem," Emma said, "Now, I got the impression while in the car that the two of you have a few things you wish to discuss with us. I think there is no better time than the present."

Hermione and Harry exchanged glances, and she noticed that he looked just as nervous as her.

"Alright," Hermione said, "Where should we begin?"

"How about with Ron?" Emma asked, "I know from your letters that you and him were having a lot of issues this year. But I also know that you wrote about him a lot in your letters. Perhaps not as much as Harry, but Ron had a supporting role in your letters. I was under the impression that the three of you were pretty close-knit friends. I assume this had something to do with the two of you becoming romantically involved?"

"It certainly played a contributing factor," Hermione said. "It showed us a side of Ron that we had never seen before. Something he was hiding, and for a good reason. I suppose you could say that when Harry and I became a couple, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. However... we have reasons to believe that Ron may have never actually been our friend to begin with."

"I don't understand," Emma said; Dan looked just as confused.

Hermione and Harry exchanged glances and he nodded. She knew what he was thinking. They would have to tell a little white lie to tell most of the story. They couldn't exactly tell her parents how they had found out the truth about Ron. All that mattered was that what they found out was the truth in the end.

"Seeing Harry and I romantically involved," Hermione said, "It set him off. He started spouting all kinds of truths. I'm not exactly sure he realized he was doing it until it was too late."

"Ron's always been jealous of me, you see," Harry said. "Because of who I am in wizarding society, it has made me sort of a celebrity. I get a lot of attention, even though I don't want it, and Ron gets jealous because of it. He's always felt like an underachiever, due to the fact that he has six siblings, five of which are all older than him. I suppose he wanted to do something to make a name for himself. We learned that in August of '91, Albus Dumbledore visited the Weasley's residence and spoke to Ron. Dumbledore told Ron that there was a way for me to become his friend, but it would have underhanded methods. Dumbledore wanted Ron to act as if he was my friend, and spy on me, and give Dumbledore information about me. In return, he would get Galleons, candy and Dumbledore would make sure he had good grades."

"Dumbledore knew exactly how to play him like a fiddle," Hermione said, "Mostly because he likely used Legilimency on Ron – which is basically mind-reading. The Weasley's aren't exactly rich, and Ron wanted money to use however he wanted it. Dumbledore knew this. He also knew that Ron was an underachiever when it came to education. He didn't like doing homework or studying. He barely read anything in his textbooks. When I became Harry's friend, and part of the group, Ron always needed my help to do homework. He was never my friend. Since I was Harry's friend, he just figured he would have to deal with me, in order to get what he wanted."

Hermione's parents, and even Tonks, looked quite speechless.

"And as you assumed, Emma," Harry said, "Ron's facade of being our friend, ended when he became to jealous about me being with Hermione."

"As a couple, you would focus on each other more and more," Emma said, "More than him, anyway. And it would hurt his task set by your Headmaster."

"Yeah," Hermione said. "I'm not sure Ron is going to be at Hogwarts much longer. If he can't do what Dumbledore wants him to do, he's going to likely fail his classes. In the end, it is probably better that it happens. We wouldn't have to deal with him, and his mother can home-school him. He absolutely dotes on her, and like a good mother should, the same can be said in return."

"Well, I am glad you found out the truth about Ron before something bad happened," Dan said.

"Yeah," Hermione said.

"So this – what did you call it – Legilimency?" Emma asked, "Is it common in the wizarding world? Sounds like a serious breach of privacy."

"It truly is a breach," Tonks said, "It isn't entirely common, but it isn't rare. There are several Legilimens out there. A few of them are Masters at the art, meaning they can read your mind with barely a thought. Others are much easier to block, since they have to perform it verbally. But the real defense against it is called Occlumency, which is creating mental barriers that can successfully block out a Legilimens."

"Harry and I will be learning Occlumency this summer," Hermione said. "But to do so, we would need comfort and privacy. So while we're here, we could teach ourselves whilst laying on the hammock or -"

"Or in your bedrooms," Emma said.

"Yeah," Hermione said, "When we're in our bedrooms together, practicing Occlumency, we would of course leave the door open, as is your rule. True, we could practice it by ourselves."

"But you could achieve it quicker working on it together," Dan said, nodding.

"Ever since we became friends, we've achieved so much while working on things together," Hermione said.

"As long as there is no funny business," Dan said, "I'll allow you to visit each other's bedrooms."

"Thanks, Daddy," Hermione said, and Harry expressed his thanks as well.

"So... anything fun or exciting outside the norms of magic happen while at Hogwarts this year?" Emma asked.

"That seems like a good opening to the next part of our discussion I wanted to get to," Hermione said, "I haven't – ah – been entirely truthful of everything that has happened in my three years at Hogwarts so far. When I talk about it, it is mostly about my friends or classes, and not the more... exciting stuff."

Emma and Dan exchanged glances and looked back at the young couple.

"We figured you had been hiding a few things from us," Dan said. "Just because you are scared we would take you out of Hogwarts."

"Yes," Hermione said. "It would be probably better to show you in a Pensieve so you can see it for yourselves. But I don't think Harry's Pensieve allows – er – non-magical folk to use them."

"There are such things as Solicitor Pensieves," Tonks said, "Which can show memories to a large group outside of the Pensieve. It is as if the memory is happening in the same room you are in. But those are mostly for use by the Ministry and higher-ranking officials. Nothing as casual as this."

"So we'll just have to tell you ourselves," Hermione said. "It is best to leave your comments until the end. Otherwise this will take all night."

So over the next twenty minutes, Harry and Hermione told the same tale they had discussed earlier that day with Tonks and the other girls on the Hogwarts Express. Much like the girls' reactions, Dan and Emma looked quite pale and emotional through much of it. During the tale about the troll, they left our their suspicions that someone – likely Dumbledore – had enchanted Hermione to go into the bathroom. Though they did mention Ron as the reason she was there in the first place.

Hermione's parents were rather amused when their daughter told them about the accident with the Polyjuice Potion that had her looking like a cat for a month. Then they looked both angry and terrified when Hermione told them she had been Petrified. Emma was quite pale, and Dan was absolutely shell-shocked when Harry talked about the Basilisk. He took a short break from the discussion and retrieved the pictures of the Basilisk corpse from his trunk so they could see the size of the snake.

The one thing Dan and Emma did know about their story was Hermione's use of the time turner that year. Professor McGonagall had written them a letter making sure Hermione had permission to use it. Once the tale of Sirius and Buckbeak's rescue was over, silence reigned around the table for a good couple of minutes. Dan was looking through the pictures of the Basilisk again.

"I'm beginning to realize that my attempts to frighten you in the basement was probably pointless, Harry," Dan said, "Trolls, Professors possessed by the same monster that killed your parents, soul-sucking demons, and then there is this thing. You've done things between the ages of eleven and thirteen that most men two or three times your age would wet themselves as the thought of. Even those in the SAS. The SAS might be able to take down a troll easily, and one of these snakes – whilst it would scare the living daylights out of them, and not everyone would survive its Medusa-like stare... well, you said Muggle couldn't see Dementors. The SAS would stand no chance against them."

"That is what there are Aurors for, Dan," Tonks said. "Though I don't think many Aurors could fight a whole horde of Dementors at once."

"A seventy-foot serpent Petrifies school-children," Dan said, "A rare and dangerous artifact is hidden behind enchantments that were so weak that three young students could pass them. Creatures that can feed on a person's happiness, and suck the life out of a person literally. All of this at a school where parents send their children to learn about magic and trust that their kids would remain safe. What kind of school are they running? That Headmaster of yours should have been out on his backside years ago, and the none of this would have happened if the authorities had some control."

"Madam Amelia Bones agrees with you wholeheartedly, Dan," Tonks said, "When she learned about all of this, she tore a verbal hole through the staff of Hogwarts, and she arrested one of the Professors as well."

"Sweetheart, what you just described – much of it – is quite terrifying," Emma said. "Are you sure you want to remain at Hogwarts?"

"Yes, Mum," Hermione said, "There is one thing you need to remember after all those stories. Harry and I, we're still here. We're capable of facing a lot of danger, as long as we're together. Also... um... if Harry and I left Hogwarts, we wouldn't just be leaving our friends. As of recently, we'd be leaving a lot more than that."

"What does that mean?" Dan asked.

"In the wizarding world, Polygamy still exists," Hermione said, "While it is not common, it isn't all that rare either. When Harry was just a baby, before his parents were murdered, Harry's father James met with three families and penned Betrothal Contracts with them. I am quite sure that James was hoping he would have another son to give one of the contracts to, but that didn't happen. Recently we learned about those contracts. Harry is basically engaged to three girls – two of which are our classmates, and one is a year younger."

"What you're talking about is an arranged marriage," Emma said, "Why would parents agree to that in this day and age?"

"While Polygamy is uncommon," Tonks said, "Betrothals happen a lot. What you have to understand is that in some ways, the wizarding world hasn't left the medieval ages. All those old-fashioned beliefs still exist."

"In his day, my grandfather started a powerhouse political group known as the Great Alliance," Harry said, "It consisted of several high-ranking families in the Wizengamot, which is basically the wizarding high court. With this alliance, whatever laws they wanted to get passed, would usually pass. Whatever laws they did not like or approve of, usually failed. My father wanted to make sure the Great Alliance lived with me. The three girls I am betrothed to are like me, Children of the Alliance."

"Three seems a bit excessive though," Dan said.

"The House of Potter is an old family," Harry said, "I am descended from three major bloodlines through my father and grandparents. I am Head of two of those, and second-in-line for another. However, two of the girls are likely going to keep their surname, to allow their names to survive with their children. Only one has decided to take one of my titles as my Lady."

"Were you two already dating when you discovered this?" Emma asked.

"Yes, Mum," Hermione said, "And I know what you're going to ask. If it comes to the point where I would be Harry's wife, I would have no problems with him having more than one. Harry's never had a real family. He needs all the love he can gets, and all the family he desires."

"Marriage isn't going to be on the menu for at least three or four years," Harry said, "Though it is custom for me to discuss the Betrothal Contracts with the families as soon as I know about the Contracts. I already met with one of the families. I'll likely meet with the other two before the end of the month."

"One of those families," Hermione said, "The Lovegoods. I guess Harry's betrothed, Luna, told her father about me and the two of you. And he really wants to meet all of us when Harry goes to talk to him about the Contract."

"Do you know why?" Emma asked.

"Not exactly," Hermione said. "Luna's sort of... quirky in a good way. Kind of strange. But she's a really nice girl. She probably realizes there is a good chance that I'll remain with Harry in the long run, so in the future, we'll be family. I suppose Luna and her father just want to meet possible future family members."

"Do you know when this meeting will take place?" Dan asked.

"Not until at least a week from now," Harry said, "I imagine Mr. Lovegood wants my godfather to be at the meeting as well, and that can't happen until Sirius obtains his freedom. His trial takes place next Saturday. Hermione and I are witnesses, so we can tell the Wizengamot what happened the night we rescued him."

"Mum, Daddy?" Hermione asked, "Are you okay all of this? The Polygamy thing and the Betrothals?"

"Sweetheart, we're not even ready to think about you being married yet," Emma said. "You're still our little girl."

"I'll always be your little girl," Hermione said, "Even when I am your age and have teenage kids of my own."

"Let us talk these things over," Emma said, "You've certainly given us a lot to think about. But it is getting quite late and it has been a long day already. I'm not telling the two of you to go to bed. I'm sure you want to spend a little time as a couple. Just keep your bedroom doors open."

"Alright, Mum," Hermione said.

She stood and walked over to her parents and hugged both of them.

"Thank you for listening to us about all of this," Hermione said, "I was actually rather terrified to tell you."

"That is understandable," Dan said, "But thank you for telling us."

"You're welcome," Hermione said. "I love you, both of you."

Dan and Emma smiled and responded in kind. Hermione and Harry then said their good nights to both them and Tonks, and made their way upstairs. They walked into Harry's bedroom and sat down on the bed. Hedwig had returned and was now sitting on top of her cage, and eating the remnants of a dead field-mouse. She hooted in greeting.

"Sleep well, Hedwig," Harry said, "I'll have a couple letters for you tomorrow morning. Bright and early, so the Muggles don't see you."

Hedwig hooted in understanding.

"Set the alarm clock before you go to bed," Hermione said, nodding to the digital clock on the bedside table, "Just to make sure."

"Alright," Harry said, "So... that conversation went fairly well."

"Better than I anticipated," Hermione said. "They just need a bit of time to discuss it between themselves. But I think they're okay with most of it. I wish we could have told them more... about our bigger secret. But I'm not just ready for them to learn that revelation yet. Perhaps after we defeat Voldemort."

"Alright," Harry said. "So are you going to join me when your father starts training me in knife-throwing and other things?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, "Though you wouldn't have caught me doing any of that last time around. It is only because you're doing it too. And I think it will benefit in the long run, especially with our bigger plans this summer. I'm just happy you decided to do this. It will go a long way toward helping you in the Tournament and facing Voldemort."

"Definitely one of the reasons why I agreed to do it," Harry said, "I'm going to do my best to dominate the Tournament this time. The better I do, the better the chance that Cedric won't take the Cup with me, and therefore survive and have a good future."

"Good," Hermione said, "Keep that in mind. I have a feeling Daddy's going to be a tough training instructor."

"I'm strangely looking forward to it," Harry said. "Happy to be home?"

Hermione sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Feels strange since I am fourteen again. Been struggling to keep my emotions straight ever since I first saw them at King's Cross. Kind of feels like cheating, though. Last time I saw them, I modified their memories so that they wouldn't remember me in case I didn't survive the war. And now, none of that matters."

"It matters to me," Harry said, "Until your Mum told me about the struggles she went through just to have you, I didn't realize exactly what kind of sacrifice you made. You are the bravest person I've ever met. Why it took me so long to realize how I felt about you, baffles even me. I was fancying Cho Chang in this time period, when I should have been asking you on a date."

"Well, we can make up for that this time," Hermione said. "We can make up for all that lost time. Starting with this summer."

"I look forward to it," Harry said.

Hermione smiled and leaned toward him and kissed him softly. Harry chuckled against her lips and returned the kiss. She backed up before it could linger, and yawned hugely.

"We should go to bed if we're planning on waking up early," Hermione said, "I imagine our shopping trip will take much of the day. When that happens, Mum usually likes to start pretty early."

"Alright," Harry said; he leaned in and kissed her again. "Good night, Hermione. Sweet dreams. I love you."

"Most definitely," Hermione said, with a grin. "I love you too."

She pecked him on the lips and stood then left the room. Harry shut the door behind her, and proceeded to change into his pyjamas. Then he set the alarm clock for half-past-six and crawled into bed. Thoughts of the eventful summer that was only just beginning swam through his mind as he fell asleep and dreamed about Hermione.

* * *

**Chapter finished! Not exactly sure how I feel about this chapter. I couldn't decide how I wanted Hermione's parents to react to a lot of the discussions. Also, there is a big twist coming in the next few chapters that might have to do with something that took place in this chapter. There may have been a few clues in previous chapters that hinted about the twist. Perhaps you caught them? We'll see. However, the twist won't happen until after Sirius' trial. A lot happens before that, so I imagine there will be a few chapters before we get to it.**

**Next chapter: Harry, Tonks and the Grangers go shopping. Harry and Hermione's training begins and more. Including perhaps a breakthrough in Amelia's investigation. Haven't decided if it is too early for that to happen just yet.**

**Hope you liked the chapter!**


	17. Of Training And Prophecy

**Chapter 17  
Of Training and Prophecy  
**

**Author's Note: As of last chapter, we crossed 1000 reviews and kept climbing! Thank you everyone who reviewed this story, and everyone who has read it. I am still amazed by the reaction this story has gotten in so short of time. Thanks again!**

**The clothing store names in this chapter are inspired by real life shops, but may not be accurate representations of what is in the shops. Other shops are likely entirely fictional. Also I made mistake in the previous chapter. I forgot about the Gringotts bank card. I'll fix my mistake with a simple piece of dialogue in this chapter. Also this chapter is the first to give hints of the future Harry/Tonks relationship. If you're not into that relationship, that is not my problem!**

* * *

When the alarm clock woke Harry at half-past-six the following morning, a few rays of sunshine were beginning to peek through the window. Harry yawned as he sat up in the bed and stretched. While his body was urging him to go back to sleep, Harry knew he needed to get up and write a couple letters to send out with Hedwig, before the early-to-rise Muggles noticed her flying around. He scooted across the bed and over to his school trunk, and opened it up. He pulled out some writing material, then walked over to the desk near the window and sat down.

The first letter he wrote to was to Ragnok. He offered to meet with Ragnok for the scheduled appointment anytime between tomorrow and Friday. He knew Hermione's parents would likely approve of such a trip. Even if they didn't tag along, they would probably like the idea that Tonks would be joining him and Hermione as a chaperone. As Harry thought about it, he realized it was probably best if Hermione's parents _didn't _come along, given that Harry and Hermione had some important things to do that her parents couldn't be a part of. Tonks could side-along Apparate him and Hermione to Diagon Alley and back easily. Harry finished up the letter saying that he looked forward to meeting with Ragnok and the harvesters.

Then he began his letter to Sirius.

_Sirius,_

_Greetings. At the moment, I am in Crawley at Hermione's house. I'll likely be staying here for the next couple of weeks. Hermione's parents are very nice and both seem to support me and Hermione as a couple. I was a little unsure about Hermione's father, Dan, but I really think we'll get along. He is a former member of the SAS – basically an elite group of soldiers, probably even more elite than the Aurors in their own way. He is talented in the art of knife-throwing, and showed me some of his many knives. Dan has volunteered to train me and Hermione while I am here for the next couple of weeks. We'll probably be practicing throwing knives as well as training our stamina and strength which will help us in duels. Should be pretty fun and probably quite tough as well. Wish me luck!_

_The reason I am writing is I am planning to visit Diagon Alley sometime this week. Don't know when yet. I am waiting for my Vault Keeper at Gringotts to give me a date and time to come in. Long story – I'll explain it more when I talk to you. Hermione and I have a few important things we wish to discuss with you and Remus. We don't know how long it will take. So I wondered if we could visit you after I am finished at Gringotts? Once I get the date and time, I'll send you another letter with that information._

_I look forward to seeing you soon. Stay safe. Say hello to Remus for me._

_Harry_

Harry chewed on the end of his quill as he reread the letter, and wondered if he should write any more. He rolled it up when he was satisfied with it. Hedwig had woken up by the time Harry had finished with his letter, and was looking at him eagerly.

"Ready to deliver a couple of letters?" Harry asked her. "They're both in the vicinity of Diagon Alley. Easy enough journey."

Hedwig hooted, then flew out of the cage and onto the top of it.. Harry gave her a couple of owl treats, then tied the two scrolls to her leg.

"By the time you return," Harry said, "I'll likely be out on the town doing some shopping. So I'll keep the window open for you. Be careful, girl."

Hedwig hooted and nuzzled his ear, then turned and flew out the window. Harry heard footsteps outside in the hallway, and he stood and walked over to the door. He opened it and peered out into the hallway. Hermione was wrapped up in a body-length towel as she walked down the hall toward her bedroom. She jumped slightly when she noticed him, and her flushed face took on a pink tinge to it.

"Morning, Harry," she said, "Been up long?"

"Just a few minutes," Harry said, "Just sent out the letters to Ragnok and Sirius with Hedwig. Should have a date and time to go to Diagon Alley by the time we return from our shopping trip."

"'Kay," Hermione said, "I've been up for half-an-hour or so. Just finished up taking a shower. Kind of obvious, since I am standing here in a towel and my hair is a wet mess. Anyway, it is free if you want to take one. Better hurry though. Tonks is doing her morning jog and will probably hop in the shower when she returns."

"I'll take a quick one then," Harry said.

"Also, I remembered something this morning that we both forgot," Hermione said, "Ragnok gave you a bank card from Gringotts, Harry. The clothing stores we'll be going to should accept it like any other card. My parents don't need to pay for your clothes. Your card should do that for you."

"Right," Harry said, nodding. "I had forgotten. Thanks."

Hermione smiled, then retreated into her bedroom. Harry cleared his throat as he tried to calm various parts of his body down. Damned young teenage hormones! Or perhaps Hermione was partially to blame. After all, her curves had been quite pronounced with only a towel around her body. Harry shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts. He decided at that moment that a shower was very much needed.

Perhaps a cold one at that!

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks groaned as she finally came to a stop, finishing her two lap jog around the neighborhood. She was starting to regret the lack of daily exercise routines over the last week. Normally, after a nice jog, she was pumped up and ready to begin the day. Right now, all she wanted was a good shower.

She glanced at her surroundings to make sure nobody had followed her. As her mentor Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody always said, "Constant Vigilance!" Even though Harry hadn't told Dumbledore where he was staying for the first two weeks of the summer, there was always a chance that Dumbledore had found out. While it was unlikely that Dumbledore, himself, would try to stalk Harry during the summer, he probably had several accomplices that he could have asked to follow Harry around.

When she was confident there was nothing suspicious, she made her way inside the Granger's house. She changed her appearance back to normal; she had put on a disguise – thanks to her Metamorphmagus skills – so nobody would identify her. After all, it was common knowledge amongst people like Dumbledore that Tonks was Harry's bodyguard. If someone recognized her, they would know Harry would be nearby. Definitely something she wanted to avoid at the moment.

She walked into the sitting room and grabbed an outfit – mindful that she would be going shopping with Harry and the Grangers – and shower supplies from her duffel bag. Then she made her way upstairs toward the bathroom. She was about to open the door, when it opened by itself. She jumped, as did Harry, in the doorway. He was in naught but a towel which was tied around his waist. His unruly hair was still damp and a few droplets of water were dripping from his bangs onto his chest...

Tonks blinked, realizing she was staring. "Wotcher, Harry! Sorry, should have known the bathroom was occupied since the door was closed."

"That's alright," Harry said, "I'm finished. Bathroom's all yours."

"Thanks," Tonks said.

Harry smiled and started off down the hallway toward the guest bedroom. Once again Tonks caught herself staring at the young teen, recalling the sight of his damp and naked chest. She cleared her throat and stepped into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it, inhaling and exhaling. She was quite sure she could still smell Harry's scent in the bathroom. She sighed and glanced at herself in the fogged up mirror.

"What are you doing?" she whispered to herself. "He is thirteen, going on fourteen. And he has a girlfriend! Off limits." She frowned. "Oh, but he is so good looking! And Hermione seems to be okay with him having more than one girl... No!" She shook her head and turned away from the mirror, "Don't even think about it, Nymphadora. Thirteen, going on fourteen. He's taken, and you're just his bodyguard and a friend."

Tonks groaned, and began to undress out of her sweaty jogging clothes. She needed a shower.

Perhaps a cold one at that!

* * *

Three hours later, at the Topman's men and boys clothing shoppe, Harry was picking out several pieces of clothing that he liked, including several pairs of jeans and trousers of various sizes, as well as a few various shirts and pullovers. Since he had never done much clothes shopping in his life, outside of buying clothes in Diagon Alley, Dan was assisting him to help choose decent options for a young teenager. Hermione, her mother and Tonks were next door at Topshop – the sister shoppe of Topman's, mostly for woman's wear.

Harry had spent much of the last hour in one of the changing rooms, trying on several articles of clothing to see how they fit. Those that didn't fit, he handed to Dan who put them away and returned with different sizes of the same clothing. By the time he was finished he had a good dozen outfits. A fairly successful shopping trip.

"Don't be surprised if the ladies demand a show to see you in all your new outfits," Dan said, half-joking, as Harry walked out of the changing room with his new choices of clothing, "They're successfully distracted by shopping for their own clothing for now. But I'm sure they'll be disappointed they're missing out on all of this."

Harry's cheeks went warm at the thought of showing off to Hermione. He had never really thought of doing something like that before. But he decided it might be a nice way to spend some quality time with his girlfriend.

"Thanks for doing this," Harry said, "Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia never took me clothes shopping. Wore Dudley's hand-me-downs for several years, and you saw how large he was. My Aunt and Uncle bought me only a few things over the years when I needed them: underwear every month or so, and glasses about once a year, but only after I started going to school and receiving notices from the nurse to get new prescription glasses. And those were mostly cheap. I've had these glasses for three years. Come to think of it, ever since Hermione repaired them the first time, they haven't diminished in quality."

"I'd still recommend a new pair of glasses," Dan said, "Either that or contacts. Is there a magical alternative?"

"I'm not sure," Harry said, "I'll see what Hermione says. Alright, all that is left now is new trainers. I think I'll get trainers and Wellies. Oh, and apparel for training as well."

"There is a great sporting gear shop near here," Dan said, "They'll have better clothing choices for training and jogging, and swimming costumes as well."

Harry blushed. "I don't really know how to swim."

That was quite true. During the second task in the previous timeline, he had figured that the gillyweed had given him temporary knowledge on how to swim. Aside from that single day, he had never gone swimming in his life.

"That is a great shame," Dan said, "Swimming is good exercise. I tell you what. There is a great indoor public swimming pool in town. We can go there sometime this week. Get you ready in time to visit the beach this summer! I'm sure Hermione would volunteer to teach you."

Harry smiled at the thought of that. While it might be a bit embarrassing for his girlfriend to teach him how to swim, he also knew it would be an excellent way to spend some time with her.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Topshop next door, Hermione was in one of the changing rooms, trying on a few different outfits. At the moment, she was trying on a few different pairs of bikinis, but she didn't know which one she wanted.

"Hey, Tonks?" Hermione called out to her friend, who was waiting just outside the changing room, "Come in here for a moment. I need a second opinion."

"Always happy to help," Tonks said, and entered the room; she grinned when she looked at Hermione, "Ooh, I don't see what the problem is. Harry is going to love to see you in that."

Hermione blushed. She was currently wearing a two-piece bikini that just happened to be the same colors as those representing the Gryffindor house.

"Do you think it is the right size?" Hermione asked.

While the bikini didn't show anything too intimate, it still showed a bit of her cleavage.

"It leaves some room open for imagination," Tonks said, "While also showing off your figure. What are your other options?"

"Well, there is one here that shows a bit more skin," Hermione said.

Tonks grinned. "If you like it, buy it. If you're worried about what your parents will think, don't wear it around them. Keep it until you go to Harry's beach house. Might be something to wear for his birthday. Unless you decide to wear nothing at all..."

"Tonks!" Hermione gasped.

She blushed profusely, though it wasn't really from embarrassment. Last night while she was trying to go to sleep, she was thinking about some leisurely things she and Harry could do that summer when they weren't doing the more serious stuff. Her mother's half-joking mention of clothing-optional beaches kept swimming through her mind. Tonks' suggestion only brought those thoughts back.

"Just something to think about," Tonks said, then she sighed and sat down on the bench, "Hermione? I have a confession. I feel really guilty about something that happened earlier today."

"Oh?" Hermione asked.

"This morning, I came in from my jog and went to take a shower," Tonks said, "And Harry was in the bathroom already."

"Did you see him while he was in the shower?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Tonks said, as her hair and face went a light shade of red. "He came out with a towel around his waist. And... I caught myself staring at him. I didn't mean to. I – oh, bother."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Hermione asked, "I can't blame you for that. He is gorgeous after all."

"Yes, but he is your boyfriend," Tonks said, "I felt so guilty. Then there is the fact that he is going on fourteen and I am twenty! I feel like a pervert."

"I'm not going to blame you," Hermione said, "If Harry decided you looked hot, would you think he felt guilty about it due to age differences? Perhaps, just because he's so shy most of the time. But he would get over it. But if I got mad at him for staring at other girls, I'd have some problems. After all, he is basically engaged to three girls. If I want to be with him for the long run – which I do – I am going to have to accept that I won't be the only girl in his life. Don't feel guilty about staring at him. You might find at some point in the future, he'll stare back. You are cute, after all. Any guy – or girl, if you walk that line too – would be lucky to have you."

"So it isn't a bad thing for me to admit I fancy him?" Tonks asked.

"Nah," Hermione said. "For all I know, he might fancy you too. And if he doesn't, he might in the future. Though he would probably keep it to himself, since he might think it would upset me."

Tonks sighed. "Well, let's just keep it between you and me unless something like that comes up. Besides, I'm not sure I would feel right doing anything about it until he is older."

Hermione smiled privately, as she turned back to the body-length mirror in front of her and admired her bikini. Sure in body, Harry was a young teenager. But in mind, he was nearly eighteen. She wondered how Tonks would feel about that once she knew the truth. Also, come September, Tonks would be posing as a student Harry's age for a while. Tonks might feel better about her feelings for Harry if she appears younger. Hermione decided she would have to watch Tonks and Harry closely. After all, something might happen between them. And if it did... well, just more for Harry to love – and Hermione had no problem with that.

"I think I'll take your suggestion," Hermione said, "I'll purchase both of these bikinis."

"You can thank me later when Harry has to pick his jaw up off the floor," Tonks said, grinning.

Hermione laughed.

* * *

Their next stop, half-an-hour later was the sporting goods store. After Harry picked out some jogging, training and swimming outfits – with help from both Dan and Tonks – Dan brought them to a booth in the store that had various knives inside a protective glass box. The attendant there waved at Dan – they seemed to know each other personally.

"Tony, here, is a former member of the SAS like myself," Dan said, "Though he was in the service much longer than me. He is one of my usual customers at my dentist's office, and over the years, we discovered just how much we had in common, mostly with the love of knife-throwing. Tony, this is my daughter, Hermione, who I told you much about. And this is her boyfriend, Harry."

"It is nice to finally have a face to add to the name and story," Tony said to Hermione, "Your father brags about you a lot."

"Every proud parent brags about their children," Dan said, dismissively. "Anyway, Hermione has decided to follow in her father's footsteps. Both she and Harry are going to take up the hobby of knife-throwing. I thought I would buy them each one of their very own."

"Alright," Tony said, "Do you have a preference?"

"Easily concealed," Harry said, "It will mostly be for self-defense, rather than sport."

"The same preference for you, Hermione?" Tony asked; Hermione nodded. "Well, then that is easy. I have a few pocket-knives here that are safe to handle, and easy to open. Let's see..."

He removed one from the glass case and demonstrated the ease of access. The blade was about three inches long.

"Lightweight and easy to carry and use," Tony said, "A yank of the wrist, and the knife will open right quick. It perfect if you're in need to defend yourself, with a good nick to the skin. But they're also well-fitted for the kind of knife-throwing Danny boy here is into."

He handed the knife to Harry, and instructed him how to hold it correctly. Harry found that it was slightly heavier than his wand, but it was as easy to grip as his wand was.

"A fine choice," Dan said, as he turned to Hermione and Harry, "I had one just like it, many years ago. I have no idea what happened to it. I just remember losing it when you were a baby, Hermione. Anyway, I'd suggest one of these and a couple cheaper versions of the same weight and length for practicing with. You don't want to ruin or blunt the knife during training."

Harry and Hermione both agreed with Dan, and they purchased the pocket-knives as well as a set of training knives.

"Are there any books about knife-throwing techniques and subjects like that?" Hermione asked.

Tony smiled. "Dan told me you're a bookworm. Seems he was correct! I have just the thing."

He walked down toward the other end of the counter, and returned a few moments later with a small book.

"While it takes more than a book like this to become skilled at the art of knife-throwing and fighting," Tony said, "This guide will give you a few tips that Dan might forget during your training."

Hermione thanked the man and purchased the guide as well. Harry was not surprised to find that she had her nose in the book by the time they had reached the car a few minutes later.

* * *

_THUMP!_

Harry groaned as the handle of the knife hit the cardboard target and fell to the ground with a clatter.

It had been three hours since they had left the sporting good store. After they had left the sporting goods store, Harry, Hermione, her parents, and Tonks walked along to other various shops. Mostly they just looked around and had fun doing so. After their shopping trip finished, they ate lunch at a local buffet. After filling their stomachs with good food, Dan mentioned it was time to go home and work some of the new weight off with a bit of training.

Upon returning to the Grangers' house, Harry brought his new purchases to his bedroom. He found that Hedwig had returned and had brought two letters with her. Ragnok's letter suggested Wednesday at ten-o-clock in the morning. When Harry told this to Hermione, her parents and Tonks, it was mutually decided that Harry, Hermione and Tonks would go alone, giving Dan and Emma a bit of privacy for the day. Harry then replied to Ragnok, saying that he agreed with that time and date and that he was looking forward to it.

Sirius had also replied back. In his letter Sirius told Harry that, even though the newspaper had announced that he would get a trial, he had not yet risked going out into the wizarding areas, and even Muggle marketplaces were risky since the Muggle newspapers had yet to retract their earlier statements that he was a dangerous fugitive and still a wanted man. So, whenever Sirius desired some fresh air, he and Remus would venture into Muggle parks, where he would run around as Padfoot. Harry smiled and chuckled at the mental picture of that, and was happy that Sirius was at least enjoying himself instead of being cooped up.

Sirius was thrilled at the thought that Harry would visit him soon and promised he would be available at any given time that Harry suggested. So Harry announced that he, Hermione and Tonks would be in Diagon Alley on Wednesday, and would visit after he finished his business at Gringotts.

Dan was now teaching Harry and Hermione how to throw their new knives at the hay-bale targets. Tonks was sitting nearby and watching the proceedings with amusement. Neither Harry nor Hermione were starting off very well. During their first few attempts at throwing the knives at the targets on the nearest hay-bale, the knives had either come up too short, or sailed past it. Only in the past couple of attempts had they finally hit the hay-bales. Unfortunately the knives either never stuck to the cardboard, or the wrong end hit first.

"Well, there is good news and bad news," Dan said, "Good news is that neither of you have any problem with when it comes to the usually desired distance. You can reach the ten and fifteen foot targets pretty easily. It is your accuracy that needs work, as well as control."

"Good thing I am a Seeker and not a Chaser," Harry said, with a chuckle, as he retrieved his knife yet again.

"This is definitely much different than spell-casting when it comes to accuracy," Hermione said. "I'm usually a fairly good shot when it comes to spells. The knives veer off to the left or right."

"You just need to practice, dear," Dan said, "I know this is frustrating, especially for someone who likes to get everything perfectly correct. I was horrible at both darts and knives once too. Then I got better. As for your most recent mistakes, well, I have a better solution. You keep turning your wrist too much when you throw the knives. Keep your wrist firm and tight. Doing so will help your accuracy, while also keeping the sharp edge of your knife facing the target. Like so..."

Dan stood at the same exact spot that he had instructed Harry and Hermione to stand. He demonstrated the firm wrist technique, doing so in slow-motion, without throwing the knife. Then when he finally threw it, it soared through the air with little to no spin and buried itself into the red dot in the center of the target.

"Perfect technique, distance and speed," Dan said, as he claimed the knife from the target, "Master all three, and you'll master the art."

Harry returned to his former position and did his best to echo Dan's movement. He threw the knife and watched it soar through the air. When the knife hit, it buried itself in the hay, a couple inches left of the cardboard target.

"Better!" Dan said, "Much better. Don't be unhappy about that. At least you got off a good clean hit. Work on accuracy, and before too long, you'll hit that target. Hit that target and we can move onto the others and finally the mannequin."

Harry smiled to himself as he retrieved his knife. While he still needed a lot of work, he now felt confident that he would be able to succeed. He vowed to work on it everyday. After all, if he could perfect the skill enough to get a few good shots at the mannequin, then he'd have another weapon when it came to dueling Dark wizards.

Over the next couple of hours, he continued practicing and gradually he started hitting sections of the target, though not the exact center. Hermione, meanwhile, was having a bit more difficulty. While she was able to hit the hay-bale, the knife either didn't stick enough or the butt-end of it hit instead. It was obvious to Harry that she was rather disappointed in herself.

After dinner that evening, Harry and Hermione were laying together on the hammock in the backyard. They had planned on starting their Occlumency lessons, but Hermione had said it could wait. Instead, she was reading the knife-throwing guide she had purchased earlier that day. Harry, meanwhile, had brought one of Salazar Slytherin's journals with him and he was currently reading through it. Tonks was in a lounge chair on the other side of the yard. She was giving Harry and Hermione their due privacy, and was reading through one of her Auror Cadet books.

When Harry noticed that Hermione was staring at the same page for five minutes, he decided to speak up. He had cast a Muffliato Charm earlier. Even though he was Emancipated and legally qualified to do magic, he was still afraid that the Ministry would see it as performing magic around Muggles. Thankfully, no letter had come. So it appeared that he – and Hermione as well, since she could do magic thanks to her Vassalage – could get away with a few spells.

"What's wrong, love?" he asked.

"Maybe I'm just not meant to use knives," Hermione said, with a sigh, "In the years you've known me, have I ever came across as a particularly violent person?"

"Not really," Harry said. "I mean, you've done your fair share of offensive spells when we were training in the D.A., or in fights with Death Eaters."

"I didn't come out very well after the Department of Mysteries," Hermione said. "If I had used better spells, I might not have been hurt that evening."

"You don't know that," Harry said. "Hermione, you're doing the same thing you've always done when you were presented with a problem you couldn't solve right away. You doubted yourself and then you read a book about the subject. However, ten times out of ten you always find a way to solve the problem. Identify the issue. No offense, but I don't think it has anything to do with knives."

"You're right," Hermione said, as she finally turned away from the book and looked at Harry, "I didn't want to tell you, but I guess I should. I'm not at all entirely sure I want to go along with our plan to take out Death Eaters this summer."

"Would you be surprised to know that I am having my doubts too?" Harry asked. "Just the thought of it gives me chills. You were right a few days ago when you said it would be cold-blooded murder. But what makes me support my plan is the necessity of it. Not to mention what would happen if we didn't eliminate the Death Eaters. Either we do it now when we can plan and prepare, and do it on our own terms. Or we do it later when they are ready to fight back and kill good and innocent people."

"I know, and you're right," Hermione said.

Harry placed a finger on her lips. "I am not finished. It is good that you are having these doubts. Why? Because it makes you a good person. Death Eaters and people like them would jump at the chance to do what we're planning. And they'd have no doubts. But they would make it much worse. They would harm innocents. We're plotting to take out people who have already performed heinous crimes, and are willing to perform more. I'm not saying that makes it one-hundred percent right."

"It is just necessary," Hermione said, nodding. "I know. Just give me time. Let me deal with this. I am going to keep practicing with the knives and prepare myself, both mentally and physically. Give me time and I'll be ready."

"You have time," Harry said, "It isn't like we're going to do this tomorrow. We still have several things we need to plan. And we also need help if we can get it. Sirius, Remus, and Tonks. I'd be happy with their help. On Wednesday, when we talk to them about our secrets and plans, we'll know for sure. Even then... these first two weeks of the summer is time to spend with your parents. I know you need this, and I would never want to take that away from you."

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said.

She leaned toward him and pecked him on the lips. He returned the kiss and it lingered for a moment, before Hermione backed away and they continued reading their books. Harry came across an interesting passage in the journal that caught his interest.

"Well, it seems even Salazar wasn't immune from the desires of a beautiful woman," Harry said, "Listen to this, Hermione. He's describing some sort of spiritual journey he took. This was before he met the other founders of Hogwarts, but after he dueled and killed his father.

_"Today, I came upon a village fayre. At first, I was disgusted at how the mundane were attempting to mimic magic. I became curious as to where they had learned such things, and I wondered if there were magic folk amongst them. I came across a young woman but a few years my junior. She claimed she was a soothsayer."_

"Another term for fortune-teller or Seer," Hermione said, when Harry looked at her questioningly.

Harry nodded and continued. "_In my experiences, soothsayers were mostly frauds. There were legends of soothsayers that could tell of the future. But those legends always told of a future that had nothing to do with the person who witnessed such an event. So I had my doubts. Until today..."_

"He's talking about prophecies," Hermione said, "Did he hear one?"

"Let's see," Harry said, "_The soothsayer's name was Loren, and I admit that she was quite beautiful. I will also admit that it was her beauty which stayed my feet and allowed her to speak to me. Even when she began reading the lines on my palms and talking about how I would live a long life. Given the fact that sorcerers like myself live two to three times longer than the mundane, that was not a surprise. I asked her if she could see my future. Was I going to be powerful, wealthy? Would I fulfill the dreams I have so desired? She began to speak, and I had hoped she would give me what I wanted. Then she started having a fit. Then she spoke these words..._

_"In an age of great battle and great betrayal, two souls through the wastelands of time shall vanish. The vanished will reappear as children of destiny, owners of a great and terrible knowledge. Two souls must accept Darkness, if the Light is to remain. Through an age of great battle and great betrayal, of tyrants and heroes, of love and loss, and great sacrifice, these souls will travel. Hardships and trials they must pass to achieve their greatest desires and victories, or the world will suffer in their stead."_

Harry turned to Hermione, and found that she looked quite pale, and her eyes were wide with wonder.

"Harry," she whispered, "If I didn't know any better, I would think that Prophecy spoke about... us. 'Through time shall vanish'? We traveled back in time through a Vanishing Cabinet. 'In an age of great battle and great betrayal.' We were in the middle of a battle, and we just learned Ron had betrayed us."

"While it does sound kind of crazy," Harry said, "You could also be right. But what is this about accepting Darkness if Light is to remain?"

"I think it means that we have to brace our Dark sides," Hermione said. "As in we have to go through your plans to kill Death Eaters. That sounds pretty Dark, but we have to accept it. Hardships and trials – that might be the Triwizard Tournament and the other missions we've set for ourselves."

"'To achieve their greatest desires and victories, or the world will suffer in their stead," Harry read again, "Yeah, that sounds pretty self-explanatory."

"Obviously it would be bad if we lose." Hermione said.

"I wonder if, perhaps, I translated it wrong?" Harry suggested.

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Hermione said, "That is certainly intriguing. If it is true, then a Prophecy from a thousand years ago lasted all this time. It certainly gives new insight to Prophecies. I mean.. how many unfulfilled prophecies were there in the Department of Mysteries?"

"Quite a few," Harry said, then a thought crossed his mind, "Hey... remember those markings on the desk in Slytherin's office? I wonder if I keep reading, I'll discover that he began to obsess over this Prophecy thinking it was meant for him. Those markings might have been of a madman bent on this obsession."

"Maybe it was the Prophecy which created the madman," Hermione suggested. "He might have believed that this Prophecy would foretell his true destiny, and when it didn't happen, he continued to grow madder and more Darker."

"Possibly," Harry said, nodding. "Speaking of Prophecy. I think we should figure out how to retrieve mine from the Department of Mysteries before the end of summer. Just in case..."

Hermione nodded. "We'll add that to our plans. Children of destiny... huh, that has a nice ring to it."

"Speak for yourself," Harry muttered, "I am not exactly excited at the fact that I am apparently the subject of another prophecy."

"Oh, this one isn't so bad," Hermione said, "While it has the possibility of death and defeat, there is also victory."

"True," Harry said, "Trelawney's prophecy doesn't exactly say that."

"Well, it should," Hermione said, "Because we're going to win. I don't need a Prophecy to tell me that. And even if it did say we're going to lose, I would prove it wrong."

Harry smiled. Though in the back of his mind, he was screaming. Yet another Prophecy that might be about him. Why couldn't his life be his choosing? Why was he set on an apparent path?

Hermione seemed to realize he was in the middle of some inner turmoil, because she kissed him softly. He returned the kiss and all other thoughts vanished for the time being.

* * *

**Chapter finished. No, the Prophecy isn't the big twist I hinted at. There is still another twist coming I have in mind. I thought about adding something else to the Prophecy, but its implications would mess up something in my plans.**

**Next chapter: Amelia has a breakthrough in her investigation. A short time-skip. Harry and Hermione receive the new Quibbler from Luna. And Harry, Hermione and Tonks go to Diagon Alley. Their visit to Sirius and Remus will be in two chapters.**

**Hope you liked this chapter! I know it was kind of tame, but things will improve shortly! By the way, when I said 10 chapters for the summer... that was a guess. I wouldn't be surprised if there were two times that many! That is how many plans I have!  
**


	18. Sales, Stories and Swines

**Chapter 18  
Sales, Stories and Swines  
**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the huge delay in this chapter. I had a big bout of writer's block because of this chapter. Hopefully I can get on a good streak of updates.**

**In a previous chapter, I mislabeled the Quibbler as a newspaper. It is actually a magazine. It is corrected in this chapter. In previous chapters, I labeled Moaning Myrtle's last name as Henderson. Recently JK Rowling stated her last name is actually Warren. Starting this chapter it will be the correct name.**

* * *

The first week of summer started off quite smoothly in the Granger house.

On Monday, Harry and Hermione woke up bright and early with Tonks, and joined her on her morning jog around the neighborhood. Tonks was a bit worried at first – as she had explained, if Dumbledore had sent one of his allies to Crawley in search for Harry, then they might spot him easily while he was jogging. Harry and Hermione had an answer for that. Tonks was quite impressed at Hermione's knowledge of the modified Disillusionment Charm that allowed choice individuals to see you, while remaining invisible amongst everyone else. Once again, Harry was slightly worried that they would receive notices from the Ministry due to active magic usage in a Muggle area, but no owls had come by. So it was decided that this would be their routine every morning.

After their morning jog, Harry and Hermione spent most of Monday morning working on their summer homework. It was decided it would be best to get that finished early in the summer, so that the only educational things they had to worry about for the remainder of the summer was Ancient Runes and Arithmancy that Harry needed to learn, in order to join Hermione in the fourth year classes. Due to their foreknowledge, they found that all of their summer homework took a bit over three hours to complete.

After lunch, it was time to continue knife-throwing exercises. However, for the first hour of training, Dan had decided on a new strategy. He taught them how to play darts, which he explained would help them with their accuracy. It turned out he was quite right. Once they resumed knife-throwing, Harry was able to hit the center of the closest hay-bale target after only the second try. Hermione was able to get it after ten minutes; she was quite thrilled about it. The second hay-bale which was a bit farther in distance was a bit more difficult. It took both accuracy and distance. This meant that they had to use a lot of power to get the knife the whole distance, whilst also concentrating on throwing it accurately. By the end of their second full day of training, Harry had been able to hit the center of the first target, and the outer rim on the second target and make the knife stick, while Hermione was only able to make the knife stick in the hay-bale.

Harry and Hermione spent much of Monday evening after dinner on the hammock in the backyard, where they started to practice Occlumency. Hermione was quite outraged when Harry went into detail exactly what Snape had taught him in the Occlumency lessons. Hermione told him that, out of everything she had read in the Occlumency book, there was nothing that described what he had learned. It seemed that Snape wasn't actually teaching him Occlumency at all. She described it almost as mental torture. Harry found that he had agreed with her. After all, the only thing Snape's lessons really did was make his mind weaker and more vulnerable to Voldemort being able to invade it. Hermione suggested it was likely the reason Voldemort had possessed him so easily in the Ministry of Magic, after the events in the Department of Mysteries.

Hoping to calm Hermione down from the outrage of his explanation of Snape's lessons, Harry suggested they focus on meditating which was a suggested practice for Occlumency training. This turned out to be a good idea, because Hermione had calmed down quite quickly, mostly due to the fact that she really wanted to perfect the technique. While they hadn't started on actual Occlumency practice that evening, they found that they were able to get in the right mood setting to do so through meditation. After the session was over, it was mutually decided they would practice meditation one hour a night, then follow it up with Occlumency practice.

Tuesday, after another round of early morning jogging, and mid-morning knife-throwing exercises, Harry, Tonks and the Grangers spent the afternoon at the local swimming pool. Harry felt those familiar tingles in various parts of his body when he saw both Hermione and Tonks in their bikinis. He had to refrain from doing too much staring at both girls – Hermione, because her father was watching, and Tonks because he wasn't sure what Hermione would think of it.

A lot of fun and laughs were had as both Hermione and Tonks taught Harry how to swim. It turned out that Harry was a fast learner, because it only took upwards of a couple of hours before he was confident to swim around on his own. He spent the rest of the time in the pool having fun and splashing about with Hermione and Tonks. He had even tried his luck on the shorter diving board a couple of times, after Hermione, Tonks and Dan showed off their skills on it.

One interesting factoid Harry and Hermione learned about Tonks' Metamorphmagus abilities, was that she could grow actual gills if needed, either in her neck or torso. This allowed her to breathe underwater for lengthy periods of time. She demonstrated this once, but did not remain underwater for more than what is usually humanly possible, so that the various Muggles didn't notice anything strange. Harry did notice that a male lifeguard at the pool had been keeping an eye on Tonks, and not only when she did this. He wasn't sure whether the bloke was just doing his job, or admiring Tonks. Either way, it made him slightly jealous for some reason.

That evening, Harry and Hermione once again meditated on the hammock, before moving onto Occlumency studies. The only problem with their studies was that neither they, nor Tonks, knew Legilimency, so there was no way to figure out how good their Occlumency shields were holding up until they found a trustworthy Legilimens. Still, they decided to use the theory and practice, and hoped that by the time they could encounter a trustworthy Legilimens, that they had improved on the practice a bit.

A little after eight-o-clock Wednesday morning, as Harry was getting dressed, an owl landed on the windowsill and pecked on the glass to get his attention. He had just finished taking a shower after his morning routine of jogging with Hermione and Tonks. Today was the planned trip to Diagon Alley to meet with Ragnok and Carver, then Harry and Hermione would visit Sirius and Remus with Tonks, where they would tell the three their time-travel secrets. Harry, Hermione and Tonks had planned on leaving at half-past nine that morning; Tonks would bring him and Hermione to Diagon Alley via Side-Along Apparation.

Harry tied his trainers, then stood and walked over to the window. He opened it, and the owl flew in and dropped a scroll of parchment and two magazines on the desk, then flew back out the window. Harry picked up the magazine and found that it was the new edition of the Quibbler; the owl had come from Luna – he had nearly forgotten that she had said she'd be sending him and Hermione copies of the new Quibbler sometime during the week.

The front cover of the magazine showed the large iron door which led into the Chamber of Secrets, one of the pictures Colin had taken. Scattered around the cover were several teasers previewing the contents within. There were two that caught Harry's eye:

**SECRET NO MORE: Discover what lies inside the legendary Chamber of Secrets. Complete with pictures!**

**THE RIDDLE OF A DARK LORD: The Truth about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! Find out what You-Know-Who and the Daily Prophet doesn't want you to know!**

Harry set the magazine on the desk, then picked up the scroll of parchment, unrolled it and began to read:

_Hello Harry (and Hermione),_

_As promised, here is the newest edition of the Quibbler, complete with both the Chamber of Secrets and Voldemort articles, penned by yours truly. I believe I did my very best when it came to these stories. I feel this will be a big seller! I am sure you're worried about what the Daily Prophet will think about this, but Daddy ensures me that he will be prepared for any backlash. He was quite pleased with these articles and he wishes to thank you personally when you meet him._

_That is the reason I am writing this letter. Daddy and I will be at Sirius Black's trial this Saturday as part of the media. When all is said and done and Mr. Black is a free man (which I am sure he will be), Daddy wishes to meet with you to discuss a time and date for our Betrothal meeting._

_Wishing you a wonderful day,_

_Luna_

As soon as Harry finished the letter, he heard a knock on the door. He walked over to the door and opened it. Hermione was standing there, dressed for the day.

"Good timing," Harry said, "I was about to come see you. Luna sent a letter and two copies of the new Quibbler."

"Excellent," Hermione said; she walked over to the desk and picked up of the magazines, "Mum will have breakfast ready in a few minutes. We can read the articles before then."

Harry nodded; he handed her Luna's letter, since it was also addressed to her, then picked up the magazine and turned to the first article, which was about the Chamber of Secrets.

Luna had written a wonderful article about her experiences in the Chamber of Secrets during her visit with Harry and Hermione. The article also had a retelling, in Harry's words, about his initial visit to the Chamber of Secrets at the end of his second year. The pictures of the dead Basilisk and the Chamber of Secrets taken by Colin Creevey and chosen by both him and Luna perfectly represented the visual details and provided actual proof of the truth of the article.

Luna's second article, this one about Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, was just as wonderful as the first. Luna even mentioned Voldemort's name once in the article then referred to him as Tom, or Riddle, or the usual "You-Know-Who" and "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Once again, Luna quoted Harry, giving a retelling of his story as well as showing the change from "Tom Marvolo Riddle" to "I Am Lord Voldemort." The article talked about the Riddles and the Gaunt family – all of which was factual evidence given from either Harry or research done by Luna herself. Harry grinned when he saw Luna attempt to inform the readers that Rita Skeeter's article was absolutely untruthful, doing so in the nicest manner that she was usually known for.

While Harry knew that the Quibbler's stories usually provided a lot of skepticism from many of its readers, he was confident that both articles gave enough proof, so the readers could believe that Luna's words were correct and honest.

"It will be interesting to see the response to these articles," Hermione said, as she finished the articles.

"That depends on the number of people who will read them," Harry said.

"Harry, once word gets out that you're mentioned in the articles, people will read them," Hermione said. "You're still famous, no matter whether or not you want to be."

"True," Harry said, "I guess it is a worthy sacrifice if it gets the information out there."

Hermione smiled, then looked back at the Quibbler. "I wonder if Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet will give any response to the Voldemort article. It basically proved that Rita's article was dishonest."

"Unlikely," Harry said, "It would only turn the focus to the Quibbler and not their own newspaper."

"True," Hermione conceded, with a nod.

"Though it makes me wonder what Lucius Malfoy would think about it," Harry said, "After all, he was quoted with saying that his family had connections to Riddle."

Hermione snorted. "Can you see someone like Malfoy reading something like this?"

"Good point," Harry said, with a snicker.

Hermione smiled. "Come on. Let's go down to breakfast. We have about an hour and a half before we need to go to Diagon Alley."

Harry agreed and followed Hermione out of the bedroom.

* * *

At ten minutes to ten-o-clock that morning, Harry, Hermione and Tonks strode through Diagon Alley toward Gringotts. Tonks was on high alert as she looked around Diagon Alley for any suspicious behavior: for example, anyone looking at Harry for more than a passing glance. Her expression seemed calm as they neared Gringotts, so Harry knew that there wasn't anything too troublesome.

"Harry, Hermione, is it alright if I leave you whilst you're in Gringotts?" Tonks asked, as they reached the front steps, "I realized earlier this morning that I need to go home and pack a few things if I am going to be with you for much of the summer."

"Fine by me," Harry said, "I doubt we'll be in any kind of danger whilst we're with my Vault Keeper."

"I agree," Hermione said. "We should only be a couple hours or so."

"Brilliant," Tonks said, "If you're out of the bank by noon, meet me at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, then we'll head for Sirius' place."

It was mutually agreed and Tonks started off back toward the Leaky Cauldron.

"It is probably a good thing that she didn't come with us," Hermione said, "Because of your – err – appointment, questions would rise from her that we don't want to explain until we speak to Sirius and Remus."

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

They walked into the Atrium of the bank and were immediately met by a Goblin.

"Greetings Lord Potter," the Goblin said, quietly, "The two of you are expected. Keeper Ragnok and Harvester Carver are waiting in one of our meeting rooms. Follow me, please."

The Goblin led Harry and Hermione across the Atrium and toward the same room which they had met with Ragnok during their previous visit the day they came back in time. When they entered the room, they found Ragnok and Carver sitting at the table.

"Keeper Ragnok, Harvester Carver," the Goblin said, "Lord Potter, and his lady friend, are here for your ten-o-clock appointment."

"Thank you, Smokescythe," Ragnok said, "You are excused. Lord Potter, Miss Granger, welcome! Please come and sit down."

Harry and Hermione crossed the room toward the table and sat down across from Ragnok and Carver.

"I'm sure you have been looking forward to this visit," Ragnok said, "So we shall begin. Lord Potter, as soon as we get done with this meeting, the Goblin Healers will be on hand to cleanse you of the Horcrux in your body. A simple transfer ritual will be done. I assure you that our Healers will know exactly what they are doing. I witnessed the transfer ritual when it came to Helga Hufflepuff's Goblet and it was very entertaining. It should be the same with you, even though you are – ah – more delicate than an ancient artifact. No offense meant, of course."

"None taken," Harry said, with a smile.

"And will the procedure be safe?" Hermione asked; Harry could hear the worry in her tone.

"You have my promise, Miss Granger," Ragnok said, "The Healers have guaranteed me that it will be safe. I will be honest with you. The Healers have said there may be a little pain during the removal."

"I've endured my share of pain," Harry said, "I'll do anything to get this damn thing out of my head. Especially if it means that is one more step toward Voldemort's defeat."

Hermione frowned as she glanced sideways at him. Harry took her hand gently and squeezed it reassuringly. She smiled briefly, though Harry could see she was still worried.

"Very well," Ragnok said, "I will turn this meeting over to Carver now."

"Thank you, Keeper Ragnok," Carver said.

Carver snapped his fingers and three boxes appeared on the table. He pulled the smaller of the three boxes in front of him and opened it up, then puled out a folder from it and set it in front of him. Then he looked at Harry and Hermione.

"Ever since we last met a week and a half ago," he said, "myself and my associates have been very busy. It has been many years since a Basilisk has been found in Great Britain. A Basilisk of that size has never been seen in the Great Britain area in known history. Of course, said Basilisk had been down in Slytherin's Chamber for a thousand years or so. So it has had time to grow into the mammoth beast. No Basilisk in the wild would ever have the chance to live that long before it was killed."

"Which is why it was the biggest on record," Hermione said, with a nod.

"Precisely," Carver said. "Suffice it to say, we've had much to do, when it came to cutting up and sorting the various parts. We've had several offers from Apothecaries and other various businesses, as well as offers from those not in businesses, but whom have their own private means. This past weekend we started a silent auction for the various parts, and it has already been fairly successful. The bids continue to rise higher and higher."

Carver opened the folder and looked through various pieces of parchment.

"I have spent many hours counting numbers, averages and predicted totals," Carver said, "And I have come up with a nice round number. That number: 20 Million Galleons."

"Blimey," Harry muttered; beside him Hermione looked gobsmacked.

"Now, not all of it is yours, of course," Carver said, "Most of it, but not all of it. 1.5 million Galleons is being taken away from that sum, as payment to those Goblins in the Harvesting department who have worked on this project."

"I can agree to that," Harry said. "Please tell them that I thank them for a job well done."

"I would be honored to pass on that message," Carver said, "Now, if I remember correctly, you requested six Basilisk skin outfits?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

Carver pushed the two other boxes in front of Harry and Hermione.

"These two boxes hold three outfits a-piece," Carver said.

Harry and Hermione each opened one of the boxes. Harry took one of the outfits. It was colored green, the same color as the Basilisk. It reminded Harry of a ninja outfit he had seen in books. The top was a pull-over shirt, and the bottom resembled sweats. There was even a hood that could be attached to the top.

"If you do not like the color, fear not," Carver said, "It can easily be changed with Color-Changing charms. I am told they look excellent in black. The outfits can fit under or over any of your normal every day clothing. When it is under your clothing, it can easily be hidden from view, aside from the hood. Much like the Basilisk, the armor is immune to most magic."

"Most?" Hermione asked.

"There are theories that the Unforgivable Curses could affect the armor unfortunately," Carver said, with a grimace. "However, the Torture Curse might be less painful. Our Armorers have also made the armor stretchy, so it can fit any height and weight. 'One size fits all' is the phrase I believe. Brickbone, the lead Armorer has figured out the cost of each outfit at 100,000 Galleons a piece. However, for you, he will sell the set for a total of 500,000 Galleons. Buy five, get one free."

"Sounds very reasonable," Harry said, "I agree to the price."

"Brickbone will be quite pleased," Carver said, "Very well. After you take that from the total, you end up with 18 Million Galleons. That is yours, Lord Potter."

"I cannot claim all of it, sir," Harry said, "I wish to give some of it away."

"I thought as much," Carver said, "So we shall move on to that. How would you like to divvy up the total?"

"Two million Galleons to each of the following," Harry said, "All of whom were victims of the Basilisk and the event. Ginny Weasley – and she is the only member of her family who gets to decide what to do with the money. If she wishes to give some of it to her family, so be it."

"Of course," Carver said, "Who else?"

"Colin Creevey," Harry said, "Justin Finch-Fletchley, Penelope Clearwater, and the family of Myrtle Warren. I believe she said she has a living brother somewhere."

"Madam Amelia Bones said she would try to contact Myrtle's brother," Hermione said, "So you could try to find Myrtle's brother through Amelia."

"A good suggestion," Carver said; he was currently jotting down notes on a piece of parchment, "That is ten million so far going out to other individuals. Anyone else?"

Harry smiled and looked at Hermione. "Hermione Granger gets 2 million Galleons as well. No arguments, Hermione. It is only fair."

"I suppose so," Hermione said, with a sigh. "I just didn't expect to get so much. I don't know what to do with that much money!"

"For starters," Harry said, "You should place it in a Vault."

"I would be happy to speak to you about that whilst Harry is with the Healers, Miss Granger," Ragnok said.

"Okay," Hermione agreed, with a nod.

"That brings the total to twelve million, Lord Potter," Carver said. "Six million remaining."

"Four million Galleons goes to Hogwarts," Harry said, "None of it is to be touched by Albus Dumbledore for any personal gain. One million of it goes to the Potions Department – if they wish to buy any of the Basilisk parts, I am sure that money will go toward it. Half-a-million will go to Rubeus Hagrid. Another half-a-million will go to the Hospital Wing. The staff at Hogwarts can decide what to do with the other two million."

"I'm sure they will be thrilled," Carver said. "I assure you I will personally oversee that which goes to Hogwarts, so that the money is not handled irresponsibly. I assume the last two million will go to you?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, nodding.

He would have rather given it to someone else, but after all of the money he had just given away, he knew Hermione would likely be upset with him if he hadn't kept some of the reward. After all, he was responsible for destroying the Basilisk.

"Very well," Carver said, as he jotted down more notes. "After our meeting is finished, I will send out notices to those who you have donated a part of the fortune too, aside from Miss Granger, who is already here, of course. The portion belonging to Myrtle Warren's family will go in a Vault to be claimed by said surviving family. Do you have any more questions?"

"What about the Basilisk's skull, sir?" Hermione asked, "Aside from its venomous fangs, I'm curious as to what was done with it?"

"Ah, now that is an excellent question," Carver said. "And it moves us on to the next part of the discussion with a nice opening. The skull will soon be on display here at Gringotts, where it will remain for a year. Lord Potter, you will be credited with its claim as seen on a golden plaque. Then it will be transferred to various other branches of our bank around the world, so that others can look upon it. Your story, Lord Potter, will soon be legend amongst the Goblin Nation. In fact, if you do not mind, I'd like to hear a verbal retelling of it. Also, I'd like to obtain a copy of the memory of the event in order to show it to the Goblin Nation. But only with your permission. I can understand if you don't want this to happen."

Harry looked at Hermione, who shrugged and motioned to him as if to say it was his choice. Harry debated inwardly for nearly a minute before he gave his answer.

"Would I have to be present for any of the revealings?" Harry asked.

"No," Carver said, "That would be your choice."

"Then I'm okay with all of it," Harry said.

"Excellent," Carver said, "If you are up to it, I'd like to now hear the retelling in your own words. I understand the Quibbler has the full story, but I have avoided it because I wish to hear it from you."

Already well-practiced in telling the tale, he spent the next fifteen minutes telling the story of his defeat of the Basilisk, including his confrontation with Tom Riddle and rescuing Ginny Weasley. Carver paid absolute attention to Harry, remaining silent as a good audience should, and taking in the story.

"As I mentioned for the Quibbler," Harry said when the tale was over, "Really, it all came down to luck. If it wasn't for the phoenix, Fawkes, and the Sorting Hat which produced the Sword of Gryffindor, the entire thing might have ended in a different and horrible outcome. That is what I wish to emphasize. I was twelve years old, a second year who didn't know half of what I was doing at the time. I apologize, sir, if that isn't what your expected audience would like to hear during the presentations."

Carver only grinned and laughed. Ragnok, too, looked quite amused.

"On the contrary," Carver said, "I believe the 'expected audience' – as you say – will favor such a story more than anything else. Simply because it was the truth and not a fabrication. Goblins value honor even more than we value treasure and gold, Lord Potter. Again, I say this with out any intention of offending you, Lord Potter. No Goblin would expect a twelve year old wizard - even one with an extraordinary past - to waltz in and defeat a seventy-foot, one-thousand year old basilisk without a bit of help and luck."

Harry grinned and shrugged. The Goblin had a point.

"With that said," Carver continued, "It does not matter whether or not luck and assistance played a factor. What matters is this: a twelve year old wizard was brave enough to begin such a task and do his best to survive the confrontation. You went head-on, without knowing the dangers in front of you, and you did it in order to save another's life."

"And I would do it again, if it meant saving another life," Harry said.

"That, Lord Potter," Carver said, "is where the legend will come from."

Harry smiled gratefully and looked at Hermione who had an equal smile on her face.

"Do you know how to remove a memory from your person?" Carver asked.

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"Again, with your permission," Carver said, "I would like a copy of the memory of your confrontation with the Basilisk. It will be kept behind securely locked doors and nobody but myself or my team will touch it. That is a guarantee."

Harry nodded and placed his wand at his temple. Then he concentrated on the entire memory, before releasing a long silver strand of memory. Carver used his Goblin-magic to conjure a phial and Harry dropped the memory inside.

"Thank you, Lord Potter," Carver said; he stored the phial in the pocket of his vest, "I believe if there are no more questions, we can conclude my part in this meeting."

Harry and Hermione indicated that they had none. Carver voiced a summarized recap of the entire meeting so that Harry could confirm the information, then he motioned for Ragnok to continue the meeting.

"Lord Potter, without further delay, I believe it is time for your appointment with our Healers," Ragnok said. "The process will take thirty minutes approximately, which gives Miss Granger and I enough time to settle the business with her new fortune. If you will accompany me, we can go to our Hospital Wing. You are allowed to come with us, Miss Granger."

Harry and Hermione stood and said a respectful farewell to Carver, who echoed their sentiments. The pair then followed Ragnok through a different door than they had come in. It was soon discovered that the door lead into a rocky, cavernous passage that, in turn, lead deeper into Gringotts. Harry wondered, as he followed Ragnok, just how many humans got the privilege to visit the depths of Gringotts that was not the Atrium or the Vaults below the bank. He didn't think the number was too high, given that this appeared to be where the Goblins of the London branch of Gringotts, and their families, resided.

Even then, it seemed as if they were only visiting a small fraction of the hidden Nation. The trip to the Hospital Wing took less than five minutes, and they had passed by different doors, all of which seemed to lead to meeting rooms. There was no sign of any passageways that lead to residential areas and it appeared that the Goblins lived far deeper than humans were allowed to go.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, they were met by three Goblins. One was dressed in what could only be the Goblin version of a Healer's garb. The other two Goblins were obviously part of the security team.

"Lord Potter, may I introduce you to Healer Branchwaithe, our Chief Healer," Ragnok said. "He is the lead expert in the procedure you are about to undergo. He was also part of the team which removed the vile Curse from Lady Hufflepuff's goblet. Healer Branchwaithe, your patient Lord Harry Potter."

"It is an honor to meet you, sir," Harry said.

"The honor is mine," Branchwaithe said, then peered over at Hermione, "I assume this is your mate?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"Hermione Granger, sir," Hermione said.

"I am sure you worry for your mate, Miss Granger," Branchwaithe said, "But I give my assurance that the patient will be as healthy when he returns to you, as he is now. Probably even more so."

Hermione smiled nervously and looked at Harry. She squeezed his hand and he squeezed it back. Harry knew this was the only affection she wished to display in front of a group of Goblins.

"I guess I'll see you shortly," Hermione said, "Be safe."

"You have my promise," Harry said.

Harry gave her hand another squeeze then released it.

"In we go, Lord Potter," Branchwaithe said.

Harry nodded and followed the Healer and the pair of security inside.

The next half-hour was both nerve-wracking and exciting.

Harry was asked to completely undress so that his clothes would not interfere with the process. He was understandably nervous doing so in front of Goblins, but they didn't seem to care. He was then ordered to lay down on a hospital bed. On the floor around the bed, rituals were drawn in runic symbols. Harry knew Hermione would be interested in the symbols, as well as the entire ritual, so he tried his best to concentrate on details.

During the first ten nerve-wracking minutes of the process, Harry lay on the hospital bed as Branchwaithe and two other Healers, dressed in the same garb, chanted in Gobbledygook. Harry felt nothing happening for ten minutes and he wasn't sure if anything was actually happening. Then the chanting became louder and Harry felt an enormous pain in his scar, more pain than he had felt before. He had been silenced early on so his voice did not echo or distract the Healers, but he was sure he was screaming at the pain.

Then suddenly the pain and his screams stopped. A new sound was heard. At first, Harry thought he had gone mad from the pain. The sound he was hearing was that of _oinking. _Harry forced himself to look toward the sound and he found a enormous swine writhing and struggling in a large cage. He had not seen the cage nor the swine before then. The two security Goblins he had met earlier stepped into the cage with axes and swords.

What happened next was a five-minute battle between the two Goblins and the swine. Two minutes in, after the swine seemed to be putting up a fighting chance, Harry had a revelation. The Horcrux which had been in his scar was now inside that swine. The swine was now _possessed. _

Five minutes after the fight began, five minutes of loud squeals and other sounds from the swine, and curses, grunts and growls from the Goblins, it ended. A whoosh of Goblin metal slicing flesh, a loud painful squeal followed by an even louder scream that Harry had heard before when he had destroyed the locket Horcrux, and the battle was over. The swine was destroyed, and with it, the Horcrux which possessed it.

The two security Goblins walked out of the cage, miraculously alive, and Harry stared at them, concerned.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

The Goblins glanced at each other than Harry and laughed uproariously.

"They're completely fine, I assure you," Branchwaithe said, looking quite amused. "They're probably much better than fine actually. They just broke their own record."

"Er... what?" Harry asked.

"The Goblet Horcrux went through the same ritual you did, Lord Potter," Branchwaithe said, "The Horcrux inside the artifact, and inside you, were transferred into swines, such as the one you saw. The battle with the first swine took nearly ten minutes. They cut their time in half."

"I've never seen a pig fight like that," Harry said.

"The swine was possessed, Lord Potter," Branchwaithe said, "Possessed with the Horcrux which had been inside you. It is quite interesting..."

"What is, sir?" Harry asked.

"Lord Potter, if your mental capabilities were similar to that of the swine," Branchwaithe said, "You too would have been possessed, just like that swine. It is interesting that you were able to hold off such a dark Curse all these years, even when you were a toddler. Even as a toddler, you had far more mental capabilities than a swine."

Harry only nodded, unsure if that was a compliment or not. A thought then crossed his mind. He had been possessed in the previous timeline, the night Sirius died. Voldemort had possessed him. He recalled his conversation with Hermione earlier that week about Snape's Occlumency lessons. It seemed that Snape really had tortured his mind. To the point where it was around the same as that swine. The thought nearly made him sick. He needed to put his mind elsewhere.

"So the Horcrux is destroyed?" Harry asked. "Nothing remains of it inside me?"

"One-hundred percent guaranteed, Lord Potter," Branchwaithe said, "You have my assurance."

"What does that mean... exactly?" Harry asked.

"Nothing like this has ever happened before," Branchwaithe said, "Not in a human, at least. I can only make assumptions as to what will happen. You may discover that your mental capabilities, your magical capabilities, your physical capabilities – they may improve greatly in the future now that you are not being affected by this Curse."

"Would the Curse have given me abilities?" Harry asked, "Some that I may now have lost? For example, I was able to speak Parseltongue. Voldemort could speak Parseltongue..."

"It may have been due to the Curse," Branchwaithe said, "Or it may have been in your genes from the beginning. This you must discover for yourself. Find out, for yourself, what you are capable of. Nobody but you can tell you that."

Harry nodded. "Thank you. For everything."

"You are most welcome," Branchwaithe said. "You may get dressed. After a final check-up, you may be excused."

Harry laughed. "I think I broke my own record. The least amount of time spent in a Hospital Wing."

Branchwaithe laughed out loud.

* * *

**Finally, this chapter is done! Ugh, this took me forever. I had trouble deciding what I wanted to do with part of the meeting with Carver. You would think the Horcrux removal delayed me. Nope, I knew what I wanted to do with that part! I am beginning to hate writing Gringotts meetings, heh!**

**I almost had another scene in this chapter – Amelia Bones focusing on part of her investigation. That MAY be in the next chapter.**

**Also next chapter: Harry and Hermione reunite with Sirius and Remus, and reveal to them and Tonks their big secrets!**

**Hopefully the next chapter will take a lot less time to post than this one did.**


	19. Secrets Revealed, Part 1

**Chapter 19  
Secrets Revealed, Part 1  
**

**Author's Note: This chapter starts a little while before the last chapter ended.**

* * *

Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was sitting at his magnificent desk in his office, reading through the morning post. He was pleased to see there were no Howlers this morning. Ever since the damnable Amelia Bones had brought charges against him – charges which were currently moot thanks to the pardon Cornelius Fudge had given him – he had expected to receive several Howlers from various citizens of the Great Britain wizarding world outraged at him for various reasons.

But thankfully due to the pardon, he had received no more Howlers than usual. The 'usual' he was used to. These were just the various rants and jeers he had received over his many years from those who disapproved of things he did. It had been a long time since he had felt any negative reaction to any of it. Thankfully, nobody seemed to have gotten wind of any of his misgivings that Amelia Bones had uncovered.

Well...almost nobody. It was clearly obvious that the entire staff of Hogwarts knew exactly what had happened between him and Amelia Bones. He knew Minerva McGonagall was behind it. Alas, he could do nothing about it. Sudden sackings of Professors would surely come back to bite him in the posterior, especially when the only real reason he had for such a movement was because said Professors were mutinous against him. Also replacing such staff would be an undertaking in itself, and not something he could waste valuable time on. The current staff would have to remain.

Albus had yet to partake in any staff meeting since his meeting with Amelia Bones. Most of the staff had left the castle for summer holidays, but there were still a few around – thankfully the numbers were so few that he could mostly avoid them and their glares and narrowed eyebrows whenever he was in their vicinity. Even Rubeus Hagrid, who had absolutely hero-worshiped him for several years, had taken to not speaking in his presence.

Albus knew that soon enough he would have to somehow solve this problem. The staff needed to cooperate with him for the better of Hogwarts. During the next staff he would attend, this would be the message he would put forth. Hopefully the staff would realize what must be done.

There were also other problems Albus had to contend with. Yet again, like clockwork – thanks to that menace Tom Riddle and his curse - he needed to assign another Professor in the Defense post. His list of possible targets were getting quite thin. In past years, he always had a back-up plan. If he couldn't find a Defense Professor, he would give it to Severus Snape, who had begged every year since his first year as Potions Master for the job. Of course it meant that something bad would likely happen to Snape, thanks to the curse, but sacrifices had to be made. So it was always an option. Alas, he no longer could use such a back-up plan. Severus Snape was currently serving five years in Azkaban. Anger furrowed his brow whenever he thought of it.

Thinking of Snape also brought thoughts forward that he needed to assign a new Potions Master. During one of those rare times when Minerva McGonagall spoke to him, she had suggested attempting to bring Horace Slughorn out of retirement. Albus knew this was a good idea. Horace was an old friend. Sure the man would need a little goading – likely a large raise to his past salary – in order to bring him out of his much-enjoyed long retirement. But Albus was sure he could accomplish it. Of course, if Harry Potter hadn't turned a complete one-eighty in attitude against him, Albus could have probably used the boy to bring Slughorn back. Harry's mother, Lily, had been one of Slughorn's favorite students. Still... the fact that Slughorn could snag Harry Potter into his talons might be a good point to bring up.

The thought of his old friend brought Albus another revelation to his mind. He could persuade _another _old friend to take the Defense Post. Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody had long been in retirement from his lengthy and celebrated career as an Auror. Surely he needed some work. Alastor would be an excellent Defense Professor. Even better than Remus Lupin had been! Students have raved on about how Lupin had been an excellent Professor. Two consecutive years of excellent Defense Professors would be an accomplishment for Hogwarts in recent years!

In addition to being an excellent Professor, Alastor Moody was one of Albus' greatest friends and allies. He would surely assist Albus in ensuring the other staff that he was still the great man they always thought he was. Albus smiled as he made a mental note to pen a letter to Alastor. Hopefully the need for a Defense Professor would soon diminish, and he could focus on other things, such as the Triwizard Tournament and his other future plans – all of which were far more important.

As Albus thumbed through his post, he found that he had received the newest edition of the Quibbler, which he had subscribed to long ago, simply because the articles were always an amusing read. The cover of the magazine quickly caught his eye. It depicted a large iron door covered in decorative metallic snakes. The large bold letters under it teased an article about the Chamber of Secrets. Another section teased an article about 'the truth behind Voldemort'. Albus' brow furrowed and he relaxed in his chair. He opened the magazine, found the first article he wanted to read – the report on the Chamber of Secrets, and started to read through it.

The article was excellently written and presented. Luna Lovegood had combined her own experience with details from the words of Harry Potter to bring out the truth of the Chamber of Secrets. The various pictures – credited to Hogwarts student, Colin Creevey – were fascinating.

Anger and jealousy washed through Albus' large mind as he was reminded of the day Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and several others including Goblins and traveled to the Chamber of Secrets. They had refused him entry. Here was picture-proof of what must have been a wonderful experience, and he had not been able to take part in it.

Albus wished that he could take the pictures from the magazine so he could enhance them, but charms focusing on copyright usually seen in newspapers and magazines prevented him from doing so. He wanted to study the pictures and see if he could find any evidence of any other secrets the Chamber held, secrets he knew that Harry Potter must have discovered. Alas, if there were pictures of such evidence, they weren't in the Quibbler.

The other article Albus was interested in told the tale of Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. Luna Lovegood had also written this story. Albus was most impressed by her factual evidence. The article had revealed everything from Voldemort's real name, to the fact that he was a half-blood, even revealing the identities of his parentage, and the history of his mother's family, the Gaunts. The article also revealed that Riddle had grown up in an orphanage, and also where he had worked after Hogwarts. Albus wondered where Lovegood had come across it.

He knew some of the inspiration must have come from Harry Potter. Albus recalled when Potter had revealed to him how the memory of Riddle had revealed exactly who he was. This included how Lord Voldemort had created such a name from his full original name. Such was represented in the article. Had all of the information come from Harry Potter? If so, how did he find out about most of it – such as the details about the Gaunts and the orphanage? Then the answer came to him. The Mudblood Hermione Granger had helped him. Of course she, and Harry too, would be interested about the man who was so intent on killing him.

Albus wondered what the backlash of this article would be. How would Riddle's Death Eaters react to the information once they got wind of it? How would they react to the fact that their leader and Master was a half-blood, the son of a Muggle: something they looked down upon? It would be quite interesting to see what would happen in the next few weeks in the aftermath of the article.

Albus looked forward to it. He knew Riddle would return to his full body. It was just a question of when. How many Death Eaters would return to him after the revelations in this article? True, some would return due to fear. But Albus knew there would be some who felt they could do better than a half-blood upstart. This was good news for Albus Dumbledore. With fewer Death Eaters fighting for Riddle's cause, there would be less trouble for Albus to handle after Riddle's eventual defeat. Then his plans could take shape.

But so much had to happen first. Albus slapped the Quibbler down on his desk. It was going to be a busy summer and he needed to get started.

* * *

Accompanied by the two security Goblins who had battled against the Horcrux-possessed swine, Harry made his way back to the meeting room he had left nearly half-an-hour prior. When they arrived, Harry thanked the two Goblins for their work, said his respectful farewells, then made his way back into the room. Keeper Ragnok was sitting in his chair, but Hermione was pacing back and forth. When Harry closed the door, Hermione turned toward him, ran over to him and hugged him, nearly taking his breath away.

"Harry!" Hermione said, as she hugged him, "Thank goodness! I was so worried!"

"I'm fine, Hermione," Harry said, "As I promised you."

Hermione backed away and looked at him. "You're really okay?"

"Really!" Harry said, "There was a bit of pain, but aside from that it was rather entertaining. Yes, I'll tell you all about it later. I promise."

"Alright," Hermione said, then she gasped, "Harry, your scar!"

"What?" Harry asked, as his hand made the familiar motion toward his forehead. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's... barely there," Hermione said, "I can barely see it. It is so thin."

Harry traced a finger along his scar and found that Hermione was right. His lightning-bolt shaped scar had thinned out to almost non-existence.

"Aside from the obvious shape," Hermione said, smiling, "Now, it just looks like a normal scar."

"Confirmation that the Dark Curse that had been in your head all these years is now gone for good," Ragnok said.

Ever since Hermione had hugged him, Harry had forgotten that Ragnok was there. He and Hermione turned to Ragnok, who was now standing and had a soft smile.

"So it might never go away completely?" Hermione asked.

Ragnok shrugged. "I am sure it could be removed through magical means, since the Darkness is no longer a part of it. But if you want my advice, Lord Potter, I believe it should remain."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Scars remind us of the battles we have fought," Ragnok said, "To a Goblin, a scar is worn proudly. It means that you survived the injury and live to tell the tale! Your scar on your brow isn't as noticeable as it once was, so it isn't such a burden. Yes, I believe you should wear it proudly."

"I think he's right, Harry," Hermione said. "Your scar is famous. People would surely talk if it was suddenly gone. The change in its appearance might be noticed, but I doubt very many would realize the reason why."

"You both bring up good points," Harry said, "I'll let it remain as a reminder. A reminder of what has been sacrificed for me, what I've sacrificed and what I fight for."

"A valiant reason, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "You'll be happy to know that during your visit to our Hospital Wing, Miss Granger and I had a productive time. She is now the proud owner of her own personal Vault."

Hermione blushed. "Something I should have done sooner."

"Better late than never, as you humans like to say," Ragnok said, "Also, Lord Potter, I sent out notices to those who you have donated portions of your fortune from the Basilisk to. They should receive it by the end of the day."

"Alright, thanks," Harry said.

"Think nothing of it," Ragnok said, "Now, unless you wish to visit your Vault, I believe this lengthy meeting is finished."

"Perhaps during my next visit," Harry said, "Our friend is waiting for us and we have another meeting with friends to attend. We don't want to keep them waiting any longer."

"Very well," Ragnok said, "I will show you out then."

Five minutes later, Harry and Hermione were making their way toward Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Tonks was sitting at one of the tables outside the parlor, sipping on some kind of frozen beverage. She waved happily when she saw them.

"Wotcher, kids!" Tonks said, "Everything go smoothly with the Goblins?"

"Smooth as silk," Harry said.

"Excellent," Tonks said, "Shall we go see my cousin?"

Harry and Hermione agreed. Both had been waiting for this moment for many days now. In one of his letters to Harry, Sirius had given his address and directions to the flat he and Remus were currently living in. It didn't take too long to find the correct building. It was a large structure in the residential part of Diagon Alley. Tonks noted that several shop-keepers – those of whom didn't have flats above their own shops or lived elsewhere – had residence in the various apartment buildings.

Sirius' flat was Room 17 on the second floor of the building. Tonks rapped her knuckles on the door when they arrived. A grin crossed Harry's face when he heard raucous barking, obviously coming from Padfoot.

"Back, Padfoot!" Remus Lupin's muffled voice was heard on the other side of the door, "Go into the sitting room!"

Soon the door opened and Remus smiled as he saw Harry, Hermione and Tonks.

"Welcome!" he said, opening the door further, "Come on in. We've been waiting for you."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, as he, Hermione, and Tonks walked through the doorway.

"Harry, I am no longer your Professor," Remus said, "Call me Remus."

Harry knew this of course, but he remembered calling Remus 'Professor' when he had reunited with him after over a year.

"Was that Padfoot we heard barking?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Remus said, "Sirius has been spending many hours a day in his Animagus form. He says it helps him with his mental healing. He spent a lot of time as Padfoot when he was in Azkaban, and on the run, so it is like it feels normal to him."

"As weird as that sounds, I kind of get it," Tonks said.

"Anyway," Remus said, "He wants to be healthy enough to be presentable for the trial on Saturday. So he is trying anything."

"Will it work, do you think?" Hermione asked.

"Time will tell," Remus said. "This way."

Remus lead them down the hallway and into the sitting room, which was about as large as the Granger's sitting room. The first thing Harry saw was his godfather. Sirius was back in human form and standing up near a sofa. While still rather thin, Sirius actually looked healthy in Harry's opinion. His hair, which had been dirty and all over the place the last time Harry had seen him, now was shorter than Harry had ever seen it. Aside from a finely-trimmed mustache, he had no other facial hair. His eyes no longer looked sunken in from lack of sleep. His complexion was no longer gray and pale, but a healthy peach.

"Sirius!" Harry said, as he quickly walked over to his godfather and hugged him.

Sirius seemed slightly shocked that Harry had hugged him, but relaxed and hugged his godson.

"I am happy to see you too, kid," Sirius said.

Harry backed up and Tonks walked over to her cousin. Sirius smiled as he looked at her.

"Nymphadora?" Sirius asked, "Last time I saw you, you were just above my waist!"

"Sirius, I know Azkaban hasn't taken away the fact that you know I don't like that name!" Tonks said; "Also, the last time you saw me, I was six years old."

"Aye, and you're still a brat!" Sirius said, barking out a laugh.

"Oh, you!" Tonks said, with a sigh, as she hugged him.

"Sit down everyone," Remus said, "Can I get anyone anything to drink? We have tea, butterbeer, and water, of course. Nothing stronger. Trying to keep away from alcohol at the moment."

"Trying to keep _me _away from it," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "Not exactly good for my current health, he says."

"And I am right," Remus said.

"As usual," Sirius muttered.

As Harry and Hermione sat down on a nearby love-seat, they each requested a butterbeer. Tonks did the same as she sat down in a chair. Remus summoned five butterbeers, passed them around and sat down on the sofa with Sirius.

"I was just reading the newest edition of the Quibbler before you arrived," Remus said, "It appears you had quite the interesting time at Hogwarts after I left."

"You could say that," Harry said, "The visit to the Chamber of Secrets was only part of it. We had a few more meetings with Dumbledore."

"It is interesting that you bring up Albus Dumbledore, Harry," Remus said, "I've been doing a lot of thinking about our last conversation before I left the school. During the conversation, you brought up things about Dumbledore. Harry, I was under the impression that you admired the Headmaster. Then all of a sudden you do a complete one-eighty. I know you told me that you learned a lot of things at Gringotts. But as I said, I've been doing a lot of thinking. What urged you to leave Hogwarts without permission and meet with the Goblins of Gringotts to speak with them about certain things, such as your parents' Will?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and nodded. Neither had to say anything, but they knew this was the perfect opening to begin their discussion.

"That explanation is only part of what we wanted to talk to you about," Harry said, looking from Remus, to Sirius, then to Tonks. "All three of you."

Remus and Sirius both looked curious. Tonks raised her eyebrows, looking confused.

"What have you been keeping from me, you two?" Tonks asked.

"Aside from seeing you again, there is something we wanted to tell you, Sirius, Remus," Harry said, "Tonks, you weren't initially part of this conversation until we realized you'd be around us for a while in the future. We decided that you should know. What Hermione and I are about to tell you needs to keep between the five of us for now. Outside knowledge of this could prove disastrous."

"Everything we're going to tell you is completely honest," Hermione said.

"Sounds pretty serious," Sirius said, with a grin, "Even for my standards. What's up, kids?"

Harry inhaled and exhaled and looked at Hermione. She took his hand and squeezed it fondly, then nodded. Harry turned back to Remus, Sirius and Tonks.

"Hermione and I are from the future," Harry said, "Almost four years into the future. When we came back in time, we left sometime during the middle of the night, or early morning on the first or second of May in ninety-ninety-eight. Wasn't easy to keep track of the time at that moment."

Remus, Sirius and Tonks shared expressions of shock and curiosity, but to Harry and Hermione's surprise, there seemed to be no disbelief in their eyes.

"On that day there was a battle at Hogwarts," Harry said, "It was big enough that it would likely be the final battle of what was known as the Second War. It is a long story, which we will try to do our best to tell you all about, but to summarize, Voldemort – who had returned a couple years prior, was feeling threatened. I had discovered a way to defeat him, and he had come to Hogwarts to find something which might have prevented his defeat. A large battle between allies of Light, and allies of Dark. Hermione and I, we were trying to destroy this object which would have weakened Voldemort to the point where he could have been defeated. We ended up in what is known as the Room of Requirement."

"The _what?" _Tonks asked, as she looked from Harry and Hermione to Sirius and Remus.

"I don't recall coming across such a room in all our years at Hogwarts," Sirius said, "But my memory isn't all that well thanks to those damned Dementors. Moony?"

"I don't recall anything that we might have encountered like that," Remus said, "Which surprises me, since we explored most of the castle."

"Ever encounter a room on the seventh floor corridor that seemed to be there once then never again?" Hermione asked. "Perhaps a bathroom when you really needed one?"

"You know," Sirius said, "There was an excellent broom closet I ended up in with a girl, and I never found it again."

"You have bad memory due to the Dementors, and you remember that, cousin?" Tonks asked.

"Can't forget the moment you popped your cherry!" Sirius said, barking a laugh.

Remus groaned and Tonks rolled her eyes. Harry choked back a laugh, then sobered when Hermione glared at him.

"_Anyway_," Hermione pressed on, "I figured the Marauders never found the room. It doesn't show up on the Marauder's Map. It is on the seventh floor, across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy. Most of the time it is a vacant wall, unless you walk near it while thinking about a certain room you want."

"Fascinating!" Remus said.

"Indeed!" Sirius said, "To think how we could have used such a room in our day! James would have been proud of you, Harry, to have found something he did not."

Harry smiled. "Anyway. One such room it forms is called the Room of Hidden Things. It is enormous. It is a room where hundreds upon hundreds of years of storage and junk has been placed. Basically one giant Lost and Found. If you lost anything, and never found it, it likely ended up there. Well, the object we were looking for was in this room. We found it and were preparing to take it, when unwelcome people visited the room. So we quickly hid in a cabinet."

"We believe it was a Vanishing Cabinet," Hermione said.

"Unfortunately those visitors had found us," Harry said, "We believe it was Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. They opened fire, throwing curses on the Cabinet. I thought in that moment were dead. Then..."

"Next thing I knew I was in the Hospital Wing," Hermione said, "And I was fourteen years old again. I found that Harry was thirteen. I quickly realized we had somehow traveled back into the past, into our younger bodies. It was the day we met you in the Shrieking Shack, Sirius."

Silence reigned for a few moments as Remus, Sirius, and Tonks exchanged glances between them and Harry and Hermione. They appeared to be trying to process this information.

"I've done my fair share of research in my lifetime," Remus said, after nearly a minute, "And I've never once found out anything about time travel like what you described. As far as I know, you two could be the first case. This Vanishing Cabinet. Do you know anything about it? Did it have a mate?"

"I believe there was one in Borgin and Burkes," Harry said.

"Harry, that was a different Vanishing Cabinet," Hermione said, "The one you're thinking of didn't end up in that room until our fifth year. It wouldn't be the same one we found in the Room recently."

"Right," Harry said, "Then... no, I know nothing about it. It could have been in the Room of Hidden Things for a long period of time."

"I've heard of a lot of bad things happening with a Vanishing Cabinet that doesn't have a mate," Remus said. "If the one you found yourselves in did not have one... and on top of that, the nature of the curses hitting the Cabinet... that might have resulted in time travel. I'd have to study the cabinet to make sure."

"Er... that would be impossible," Harry said, "We destroyed it recently. We didn't want anyone using it to travel back in time."

"And it didn't result in a paradox?" Remus asked, eyebrows raised, "Interesting. Then it was probably for the best."

"I have a question," Sirius said, "You made it sound like Voldemort had returned in someway. How did that happen?"

"It happened on June the twenty-fourth, a year from now," Harry said. "It happened in Little Hangleton Cemetery, where Voldemort's Muggle father and grandparents are buried. Voldemort returned to full body form using a ritual. Bone of the father, flesh of the servant, blood of the enemy."

Sirius whistled. "That is a Dark Necromancy Ritual. Probably could find it in one of the books in the library in my old house. It was the kind of thing my family would like to have around. Dark stuff."

"You sound pretty sure of the event, Harry" Tonks said, "Was this common knowledge in the future?"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head, "I was there. I was the blood of the enemy. One of Voldemort's servants kidnapped me and I wound up in the cemetery. I was lucky to survive. Cedric Diggory, however, who had also been kidnapped, was murdered. After I escaped back to Hogwarts that evening, I wound up in the Hospital Wing. Several people were there. My friends, Dumbledore... you, Sirius. Madam Pomfrey was trying her darnedest to get me to go to sleep, but Dumbledore wanted me to talk about what happened. I explained the story.

"Soon after, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was there," Harry said, "Dumbledore tried to make Fudge see that Voldemort had returned. But Fudge was afraid – he did not believe Dumbledore. Or me. Earlier that year, Rita Skeeter had written an article claiming that I was deranged. Fudge used this as evidence to call me a liar."

"But you had proof!" Tonks said, "You were there to see him return! Dumbledore has a Pensieve, I've seen it. Did he use a copy of your memory as proof?"

"Veritaserum would have proven your story as well," Sirius said.

"Dumbledore suggested neither," Harry said, "Looking back, I suppose I should have found that a little strange. In the end, Fudge didn't believe us. Dumbledore gathered his old friends and allies and brought back the Order of the Phoenix. All three of you were a part of it."

"So when we met at Hogwarts," Tonks said, "You already knew me."

"Yes," Harry said.

"Sometime we'll sit down and give the three of you the whole story of what happened during the years between now and May 2nd in 1998. But here is a small summary. After nearly a year of hiding out, and gaining power, Voldemort was finally revealed to be alive, and Fudge had seen him with his own eyes. The Second War had truly begun. A year after that, Albus Dumbledore was murdered. Following Dumbledore's death, and leading to the final battle, Great Britain went through some of the worst horrors it had ever seen. Voldemort had taken control of the Ministry of Magic. Hermione and I never took part in our seventh year at Hogwarts. We were trying to bring down Voldemort. And in the early days of May 1998, we ended back at Hogwarts in the middle of a battle which may have ended the second war."

"And ultimately ended up in that cabinet which whisked us back in time," Hermione said.

"Was it before or after Dumbledore's death that led you to mistrust him?" Remus asked.

"Actually it was shortly before we ended up in that Vanishing Cabinet," Hermione said. "Ron Weasley and I, we had separated from Harry during the battle. In order to destroy this object to weaken Voldemort, we needed to find a weapon to destroy the object. So we were on our way to the Chamber of Secrets. We ended up in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, and that is where things went south. In order to get into the sewers that lead to the Chamber, we needed someone who could speak Parseltongue. I thought we would need to find Harry. Then all of a sudden Ron speaks Parseltongue! He tried to tell me that he had mimicked it from Harry, but I knew that was impossible. I told him so, and he told me I was too smart for my own good, and he... attacked me. A boy who had been one of my best friends, a boy who, at the time, I thought I fancied, attacked me."

Hermione's voice shuddered and Harry squeezed her hand fondly to calm her down. She smiled at him with damp eyes and turned back to her audience.

"First he tried to Obliviate me," Hermione said, "But I countered that. Then he tried to use an Imperius Curse on me, and I avoided it. I placed him in a full-body bind and tried to figure out what was going on with him. He insulted me, called me a – a Mudblood. He had never done that before, at least in my presence. So I... I placed him under the Imperius Curse and demanded that he tell me the truth."

"Smart girl," Sirius commented, then he smiled when Hermione and Harry looked at him oddly, "Perhaps you thought one of us would scold you for using an Unforgivable? Hermione, you did the right thing. Your friend was acting strange and you needed to figure out why."

"It might surprise you to hear me say this," Remus said, "But I have to agree with Sirius. It was quick thinking. I would have given you points for it. What did you discover?"

"When we spoke to you last, we told you that Ron was like Peter Pettigrew," Hermione said, "Instead of working for Voldemort, Ron was working for Dumbledore, but he still betrayed those who trusted him. In truth, Ron was never really our friend. Ron told me that Dumbledore had recruited him the summer before our first year at Hogwarts, to befriend Harry. He only became friends with me because I became friends with Harry. Dumbledore promised Ron good grades, money and other things if he would befriend Harry, and give Dumbledore information about Harry. Ron would meet with Dumbledore over the years and report to him, telling him anything that he might have learned about Harry and myself."

"My first meeting with Ron and his family was under strange circumstances," Harry said. "Looking back, I should have realized something was odd. You see, Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley for the very first time, to help me buy my school supplies. At the end of our trip, he gave me a ticket to Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters, but he didn't inform me how to get through the passageway, or even where it was."

"Professor McGonagall or one of the other Heads of Houses are usually in charge of introducing Muggleborn and Muggle-raised to the wizarding world," Remus said, looking thoughtful. "Hagrid is a very odd choice for that duty. I can only guess that Dumbledore instructed him to do so."

"In all the years I've known Hagrid, one thing is consistent," Sirius said, "He absolutely hero-worships Albus Dumbledore."

"So Dumbledore could have given Hagrid careful instructions of what he should do with Harry," Tonks said, "And Hagrid would have done exactly that, and thought nothing of it."

"Definitely," Sirius said, "I know for a fact that Hagrid knew I was Harry's godfather, which meant that I should have taken custody of Harry the night his parents died. Yet Hagrid kept saying that he had to take Harry to Dumbledore. Dumbledore told him to do it. He would follow any instruction Dumbledore wanted him to do."

"Including making sure that I was never present on my eleventh birthday to meet with my Vault Keeper at Gringotts?" Harry suggested. "Ragnok informed me that I should have met him then. If I had, I would have read my parents' Will, taken my Inheritance Test, and gained Emancipation."

"Of course Dumbledore would have known that," Hermione said, "And wanted to prevent it."

"I can see that," Remus said, "What does this have to do with the Weasleys?"

"Because Hagrid never told me how to get on Platform Nine-And-Three-Quarters," Harry said, "I was completely lost. Until Molly Weasley walked up with her family talking about Muggles out loud."

Tonks scoffed. "As an Auror, I'd have arrested her for threatening risk of breaking the Statute of Secrecy."

"I see what she was doing though," Remus said, nodding, "She knew you were waiting there. She wanted you to find her."

"As per Dumbledore's instructions, possibly?" Harry asked. "Meeting the Weasleys lead me to get to know what I had felt was a surrogate family in the wizarding world."

"Arthur and Molly Weasley have known Dumbledore for many years," Remus said, "Dumbledore wanted you to befriend his friends."

"So they could keep an eye on me, like he instructed Ron to do?" Harry suggested.

"It is frightening how easily I am believing all of this," Sirius said. "It could easily be done."

"So, there I was, sitting alone on the Hogwarts Express," Harry said, "And who should enter my carriage but Ron Weasley. He asks if he could join me, and he claims every other carriage was full."

"What a filthy liar!" Tonks said, "There were several carriages open or half-empty long after the Hogwarts Express started its journey."

"I didn't know that," Harry said, "And it played into Ron's hands. And Dumbledore's. Ron and I became fast friends. Or so I thought. And it all started because Hagrid was instructed not to tell me everything I should know. Dumbledore had his plans for me from the beginning."

"He also had his plans for me from nearly the beginning," Hermione said.

"How?" Remus asked.

"Throughout the first few weeks of our very first term," Hermione said, "I was friendless. The only boy I wanted to be friends with, because he seemed like the perfect friend for me, was Harry. The only thing I can think of is that Dumbledore must have used Legilimency on me and discovered I was trying to be Harry's friend. Which would have made me a threat toward Dumbledore's plan for Harry. Dumbledore didn't like it. No, he _hated _it. To the point where he tried to kill me. On Halloween of our first year, Dumbledore attempted his first attack. Ron played his part. He teased me to the point where I was upset. Told me nobody would want to be my friend."

"Using Legilimency, Dumbledore could have seen your worst fears," Remus said, looking thoughtful once again, "So he could have known exactly how to hurt you. Even might have instructed Ron exactly what to do."

"Exactly," Hermione said. "But this is where it gets interesting. Tonks, if you wanted to go hide from everyone for the day while at Hogwarts, and have the privacy in order to cry and feel sorry for yourself, where would you go?"

"My dormitory," Tonks said, "Shut my curtains around my bed, and everyone knows to ignore me."

"Exactly," Hermione said, "Which is what I should have done. What I likely would have done. Somehow, I ended up in a bathroom, where I spent hours crying. Hours! I never would have remained there if it was up to me."

"A bathroom is a rather public location," Tonks said, "Anyone could have heard you."

"Very peculiar," Remus said, "It sounds as if you didn't mean to be there."

"Even more peculiar that it was the same location where a troll entered the bathroom later that night," Hermione said. "The Defense Professor, Quirrel, had brought the troll in that night. And it somehow had entered that very same bathroom. During my interrogation with Ron, he told me that Dumbledore _knew _Quirrel was bringing in a troll. Ron told me that Dumbledore placed troll lure in the bathroom. He also informed me that Dumbledore used an Imperius Curse to make sure I was in the bathroom."

"Dumbledore really did want to kill you," Sirius said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, he never expected a kink in the system," Hermione said, looking at Harry.

"Me," Harry said, "Earlier in the night, I was informed that Hermione was in the bathroom. So when I realized there was a troll in the castle, I knew I needed to find Hermione. Ron came with me. Looking back, it was likely he had no other choice. He was posing as my friend. He needed to prove himself as my friend by assisting me to help save Hermione. When in fact, he knew that Dumbledore was trying to kill her. I saved Hermione and she became my friend."

"That wasn't the only time Dumbledore wanted me dead," Hermione said, "He had nothing to do with the Basilisk petrifying me, but Ron said that Dumbledore commented saying he would have preferred I died. Sirius, the night we saved you, we told you we used a Time Turner, remember?"

"Yes," Sirius said.

"Dumbledore instructed Harry and I to use the Time Turner," Hermione said. "We realized he wanted us to use the Time Turner for two different reasons. The first was that going through the experience of trying to save you put me in danger once again. Remus was roaming the grounds that evening, after all."

Remus narrowed his eyes. "Dumbledore hoped that I'd come upon you and kill you."

"Or at least turn me," Hermione said, "And he would expel me from Hogwarts because I was bitten, ultimately removing me from Harry's presence."

"What was the other reason?" Sirius asked.

"Setting you free would have made you a fugitive once again," Harry said, "Dumbledore didn't know that I would soon discover the information that will prove you are innocent. In our previous timeline, I never found such information. So you were still a fugitive. As a fugitive, you would never become my guardian if I was not Emancipated. Exactly what Dumbledore wanted in order to keep me under his control."

"But that wasn't the last of Ron's revelations," Hermione said, "Ron had one final nail in the coffin. He revealed to me that Dumbledore and Molly Weasley were manipulating me and Harry to the point where he even interfered in our romantic lives. They drugged us with Love Potion. Mine was targeted toward Ron, which is why I began to fancy him. Harry's was targeted toward Ginny Weasley. This only started after Harry and I realized our romantic feelings for each other. Dumbledore couldn't have that."

"So when you came back in time, you were armed with quite a bit of knowledge," Remus said, "Ron and Dumbledore's betrayal, as well as the knowledge of future events. But I have to wonder... how did you know to go to Gringotts to speak with your Vault Keeper, Harry? Did you discover this before you came back in time?"

"Our initial reason to visit Gringotts wasn't because of my parents' Wills or Inheritance Tests," Harry said, "Actually I knew none of that until we arrived. We intended to go for an entirely different reason. Ron had informed Hermione of one more key piece of information. Something that the Goblins could help us with."

"And what was that?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked at Hermione, who nodded. He turned back to his audience.

"Sirius, Remus," he said, "Have you ever heard of Horcruxes?"

* * *

**Decided that was a nice place to split up the conversation! I apologize if the conversation seemed all over the place. But that was how I wrote it.**

**Next chapter, Harry and Hermione continue their discussion with Remus, Sirius and Tonks and bring them further into their plans for the future regarding Voldemort, Death Eaters are more!**


	20. Secrets Revealed, Part 2

**Chapter 20  
Secrets Revealed, Part 2  
**

**Author's Note: Another quick chapter! I wrote this pretty quickly because I knew what I wanted. The next few chapters, however... possibly not. Things are going to get a bit complicated plot-wise and I just know it will probably take some thinking to get exactly what I want in writing!**

* * *

_Previously on 'The Vanishing Cabinet of Time'_

"_So when you came back in time, you were armed with quite a bit of knowledge," Remus said, "Ron and Dumbledore's betrayal, as well as the knowledge of future events. But I have to wonder... how did you know to go to Gringotts to speak with your Vault Keeper, Harry? Did you discover this before you came back in time?"_

_"Our initial reason to visit Gringotts wasn't because of my parents' Wills or Inheritance Tests," Harry said, "Actually I knew none of that until we arrived. We intended to go for an entirely different reason. Ron had informed Hermione of one more key piece of information. Something that the Goblins could help us with."_

_"And what was that?" Sirius asked._

_Harry looked at Hermione, who nodded. He turned back to his audience._

_"Sirius, Remus," he said, "Have you ever heard of Horcruxes?"_

* * *

Sirius' peach complexion paled slightly, and his expression darkened. It was almost frightening for Harry to look upon his godfather's face. Remus' left eye twitched, but aside from that he gave no other indication that he knew of the term. He merely stared curiously in Harry and Hermione's direction.

"I'm not sure if you already know this about me," Sirius said, "Maybe I told you this in your future. I ran away from home when I was sixteen years old after a very bad experience with my so-called family. I went around your Dad's and grandparents, and they graciously took me in. Now for something I likely would have never told you without necessary reason to, such as now. Two weeks prior to my exile from my family, I was lounging in my bedroom when all of a sudden, my father storms in, dragging my brother, Regulus, behind him with one hand, and holding a book in the other. My father wasn't angry. In fact it was the only time in my life I had ever seen him _frightened._"

Sirius' nostrils flared as he inhaled and exhaled. It was obvious this was a painful memory for him.

"It turned out that my brother was in our family library," he continued, "and had come across an old book my parents had forgotten to remove from the shelves. There are even subjects that a child or teenager raised in the Dark Arts should never read about. My father was holding a book that had that type of subject. Apparently my brother had been caught reading through it. Father tossed my brother on my bed and stared at both of us, silently for a good thirty seconds... as I said, he looked frightened. Tired of the silence, Reg then asks him 'What are Horcruxes, Father?' My father replied 'Something you will never involve yourselves in or I will destroy you myself, then do the same when I meet you in Hell.' I never knew my father to believe in such a concept like Hell. It felt like too much of a Muggle term. For him to mention it, I knew that he truly meant it."

"Did he explain what Horcruxes were?" Harry asked.

"He did," Sirius said, "Only because he hoped it would scare us out of our wits. He succeeded. A Horcrux is the Darkest Curse in existence. Worse than the Killing Curse. To perform it literally requires you to tear your soul apart. And it is performed through the act of _murder. _It is used to give yourself an extended life through terrible means. When you tear your soul, you would store the piece in a separate container and hide it from the world. As long as your soul remained, you could never truly die."

"That is horrible!" Tonks said, her voice shuddering in fright; she hugged her arms around her as if the temperature had fallen several degrees..

"How exactly do you know that term, Harry?" Remus asked, quietly.

"During my sixth year," Harry said, "Dumbledore began to privately tutor me. It wasn't a weekly or even monthly class. Instead the meetings took place whenever he felt peckish. Now, a genius like Dumbledore, you might believe he might have trained me some advanced magic or dueling techniques, in order to help me survive. It was nothing like that. He wanted to teach me the history of Tom Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort. Each session, we would spend time in his Pensieve, traveling through memories of Tom Riddle. The memories were acquired from various sources. I suppose I should mention that, in sixth year, Professor Snape achieved his career-long dream and had claimed the Defense Post. Professor Dumbledore hired Horace Slughorn to take up his old post as Potions Master."

"I remember him," Remus said, smiling, "An excellent Professor."

"You say that because he took you into his Slug Club," Sirius said with a snort; he looked at Harry, "Slughorn also invited your mother into the Club. The only two members of his Club then that didn't have a famous relative."

"If I recall, he did invite you," Remus said, "And you refused."

"I was raised attending bloody social parties that he imitated with his own parties and dinners," Sirius said, "I hated them. Did not want to echo those experiences."

"And yet you and James crashed at least one party," Remus said. "Christmas, fifth year..."

"Lily attended the party with the fifth year Ravenclaw prefect," Sirius said, "James wanted to break up their date before it became serious. I tagged along."

Remus rolled his eyes and turned back to Harry. "Please continue."

"The summer before sixth year," Harry said, "Dumbledore took me with him to visit Slughorn. He hoped I would help him lure Slughorn back into his job. I was to be part of his new collection."

"I have to give it to Dumbledore," Remus said, "Slughorn likely adored you. Would remind him of Lily. She was one of his favorite students. That, plus the fact that you are the Boy-Who-Lived would have had Slughorn begging to come back."

"Actually he was against it," Harry said, "But Dumbledore told me it was imperative that Slughorn return. In the end, it was my presence that made Slughorn agree to return to his post. I mention Slughorn, because he played a crucial role in my lessons with Dumbledore. What you may not know is that Slughorn taught Tom Riddle. Of course, Riddle was a part of the Slug Club."

Sirius shuddered. "Happy now, Remus? You share Slug Club alumni status with Voldemort!"

Remus grimaced. "Please continue, Harry."

"During one of the Slug Club meetings in that time period," Harry said, "Riddle stayed after one of the meetings to speak with Slughorn about a very touchy subject. Now, here is the kicker. The memory of the event came directly from Slughorn himself, and was given to Dumbledore. However, something was wrong with the memory. It was tainted."

"Slughorn modified his own memory?" Remus asked, "Why?"

"Exactly the question Dumbledore wanted me to answer," Harry said, "So I had to chum up to Slughorn. Get to know him better, in order to obtain the real memory. Earlier in the year, during one of the Potions lessons, I had won a small vial of Felix Felicis – Liquid Luck."

"Technically you cheated," Hermione muttered.

"Are you _still _angry about that?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione said, with a straight face.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Anyway, after weeks and weeks of trying to figure out how to get the information, I dumbly remember that I still had Felix! So I used a few drops and in the end it paid off. I obtained the true memory. In the broken memory, we could not hear what Riddle was asking Slughorn. All we heard was silence, then Slughorn apparently yelling at him. In the true memory, Riddle mentions Horcruxes."

"Slughorn told him?" Remus asked, aghast.

"Indeed he did," Harry said, "You must understand – though I am sure you do know - that Riddle was, and is, quite manipulative. He easily made Slughorn believe that everything they discussed about Horcruxes was hypothetical. A simple lesson. The most interesting part of the lesson was this: Riddle wanted to know exactly how many times you could split your soul. For example, isn't seven the most powerful number?"

"Seven?!" Sirius growled. "Tearing your soul into two pieces is heinous as is!"

"Indeed it is," Harry said. "You see, it turned out that much of what Dumbledore had been teaching me had something to do with Horcruxes. Thinking back now, I am quite sure that Dumbledore knew that Voldemort was using Horcruxes. Basically what I am trying to say is the lessons were almost entirely a waste of my goddamn time."

"Harry!" Hermione admonished his language.

Harry simply continued. "All of these memories could have been viewed in a week's time. I wouldn't even have needed to obtain the true memory, because it appeared that Dumbledore had only heard everything he had already confirmed. We could have spent months training and hunting these things down. Instead I spent weeks at a time waiting for the next meeting, only to view another memory and get a bit of information. None of what he told me truly helped me after he was gone. He died, leaving me, along with Hermione and Ron who demanded to come along to hunt for these damned things with only bits of information."

"Voldemort created Horcruxes," Sirius said, barely above a whisper, "This is why nobody could kill him. Why he didn't die the night he killed James and Lily and attacked you. Exactly how many did he make? Wait!"

He stared at Harry with horrified eyes. "Don't tell me the damned psychopathic bastard made _seven_?!_" _

"Eight actually," Harry said, "The last which was in himself. Seven others out there."

"Do you know what they are?" Remus asked, "Where they are?"

"Hold up," Sirius said, "Earlier you were talking about an object at Hogwarts – in the Lost and Found room or whatever - that you were trying to get before you were whisked back in time. Was that a Horcrux?"

"Yes," Harry said, "He had turned Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem into a Horcrux."

"Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem?" Remus asked, gobsmacked. "You found it?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "Sadly we recently had to destroy it."

"Recently?" Sirius echoed. "Are you trying to tell me you've destroyed these Horcruxes since you came back in time?"

"Of course we have!" Harry said, "We spent months and months hunting these things down in the future – some of the worst months of my life. You really think I am going to let them hang about?"

"Since we've come back in time," Hermione said, "Four have been destroyed as of today, and one was already destroyed as of about a year ago. That is five total destroyed. We know where one is, and another we believe has yet to be created, but will in the near future. And that is one reason we're telling you all of this, Sirius. We need your help to find one of the last Horcruxes."

"My help?" Sirius asked, "How?"

"We need passage into Number Twelve Grimmauld Place," Harry said.

"Why would you –?" Sirius began, then stopped as his jaw dropped. He narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to tell me there is one of these Horcruxes in my old house?"

"Indeed," Harry said. "Sirius you need to know something. Regulus died a hero."

Sirius stared at Harry, his brow furrowed. He remained silent, and Harry took this as means to continue.

"During our hunt for the Horcruxes," Harry said, "We took shelter at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place for several weeks. By that time the Horcrux was no longer there. It had been stolen some months previously by a member of the Order."

"Another traitor?" Sirius asked.

"Nope," Harry said, "Just a ruddy sneak-thief."

"Mundungus Fletcher," Remus guessed, amused, "I am thoroughly surprised Dumbledore invited him back into the Order."

Sirius groaned. "When I meet Dumbledore, I will strangle him by his intestines!"

"You had past history with Dung?" Hermione asked.

"Like in your future, Dung was also part of the Order way back when," Remus said, "Even at the age of twenty, he was a sneak-thief. Back then he was our initial suspect as the traitor in the Order. Everyone in the Order thought he was the traitor. He was booted from the Order by a majority vote."

"Nearly an unanimous decision," Sirius said, "Two people voted for him to remain. Dumbledore was one, and the other – huh. Moony, my friend, we were quite oblivious back then!"

"Pettigrew," Harry muttered, "He voted for Dung to remain."

"Of course," Hermione said, "He hoped that the suspicions of the traitor would remain on Dung and not turn to him."

"So as you can see," Remus said, "Dung isn't exactly a friend. Continue with your story."

"Dung had stolen the Horcrux, which sent us on a dangerous mission to find it," Harry said, "Luckily it is still in Grimmauld Place at this point in time."

"You mentioned my brother was a – a hero," Sirius said, with a strained voice, "Please explain."

"When the Order came back, Grimmauld Place was used as Headquarters," Harry said, "A few of us had 'waged war' on the house – doing some major cleaning. We were throwing out a bunch of junk. Your old house-elf Kreacher kept trying to rescue some of that junk."

"Bloody hell, that damned elf is still around?" Sirius asked, "I could have lived another hundred years without knowing that!"

Harry grimaced, but continued. "During our hunt for the Horcruxes, whilst we – Hermione, Ron and I - were living at Grimmauld Place, we spoke to your house-elf Kreacher about the Horcrux, which turned out to be a locket. You see, when we were cleaning, Kreacher had rescued the locket, which later lead to Dung stealing it. Kreacher told us the story behind the locket... and what it had to do with your brother, Regulus."

Sirius looked quite confused as Harry began the same tale that Kreacher had told him. Then as the story progressed, Sirius' complexion turned pale again and his hands clenched into fists. By the time Harry had finished the story, Sirius' fists were pressed into the sofa cushion, and he seemed to be doing his best not to cry in front of everyone.

"Regulus," Sirius gulped, hoarsely, "He – he -"

Remus gently clutched his friend's shoulder. "He died a hero, Padfoot. He died attempting to bring down Voldemort."

"If it wasn't for my father's lesson," Sirius said, "Regulus might have never known exactly what Voldemort was doing. He might –"

"Sirius, the Horcruxes were Voldemort's biggest, deepest secret," Hermione said, "Even if Regulus had escaped that cave, and knew nothing about Horcruxes, Voldemort might have killed him. Do you believe your brother was one of Voldemort's senior circle?"

Sirius shook his head. "Reg didn't have it in him to be considered. At least that is what I thought at the time. Why?"

"Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, two of Voldemort's senior circle," Hermione said, "Each were guardians of two of his Horcruxes. Unless Regulus was one of the senior circle, Voldemort wouldn't have trusted him with the information of his quest. Voldemort would have likely killed him to protect the information."

"My brother was doomed from the start," Sirius said. "From the moment he even heard the Death Eaters were recruiting."

"I reckon he knew that, Sirius," Tonks said, "Which is why he wanted to redeem himself before he died."

Sirius nodded. "So... when do you reckon we should visit my old residence."

"I reckon the Locket will remain safe until after you officially obtain your freedom on Saturday," Harry said, "We can go after the fact."

"I believe that is a good idea," Remus said. "We already know the Ministry wants you to turn yourself in, Sirius. If you want to go to the Ministry and walk into that courtroom of your own accord...?"

"That is still the plan, Moony," Sirius said.

"Then I don't think you want to hang about Grimmauld Place," Remus said, "I would eat my wand if there aren't Aurors routinely stationed near your old house."

Sirius nodded again. "So after the Locket is destroyed, there is one last Horcrux then Voldemort is mortal again. What is this Horcrux?"

"We believe it will be Voldemort's familiar," Harry said, "A very large serpent that Voldemort always kept by his side."

"You _believe_?" Remus questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Harry grimaced. "Dumbledore was the one who theorized that the serpent was the Horcrux. Lately I've discredited most everything he ever told me. However, I don't think there is anything else it could be."

"Let us hope," Remus said, "When and where will this Horcrux be destroyed?"

"As I said, the snake remains close to Voldemort at all times," Harry said, "So I'll have to destroy her the next time I meet Voldemort – Almost a year from now in the Little Hangleton Graveyard. The very same night I destroy Voldemort... the night he attempts to return to Corporeal form."

Remus, Sirius and Tonks stared at Harry, looking rather horrified that he had said this.

"Why must it be you to defeat Voldemort, Harry?" Tonks asked.

"It was always meant to be me," Harry said.

Remus studied Harry for a moment. "You know the Prophecy?"

"_You _know the Prophecy?" Harry asked.

"Echo... echo... echo," Tonks joked. "What prophecy? What am I missing?"

Harry cleared his throat. "_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..._"

Tonks' jaw dropped as she stared at Harry. Her eye twitched. "Yep. That pretty much sounds like you have to destroy him. Good luck, mate."

"I did ask you if you were sure you wanted to be my bodyguard," Harry said, with a smirk.

"At the time I thought you were a mostly-innocent thirteen-going-on-fourteen year old kid, Harry," Tonks said. "Now I know you're a thirteen-going-on-eighteen year old time traveler who knows more about me than I thought possible. Either way, I'm not quitting my job, bub."

Harry grinned and turned back to Remus. "How do you know the Prophecy?"

"During one of those rare excursions Sirius and I actually got to see James during the occasional Full Moon," Remus said, "Your parents were told the full Prophecy by Dumbledore. In turn James told Sirius and I. Wormtail never knew it. He didn't attend the Full Moon run that evening, and thankfully we never told him after the fact."

"Given what we know about Dumbledore," Hermione said, "Why would he have told Harry's parents about the Prophecy?"

"It gave them extra incentive to make sure I survived no matter what," Harry said, "Apparently I was destined to destroy Voldemort. If my parents failed to protect me, they would doom the world."

"Harry, that is rather harsh," Hermione said.

"And it is exactly what Dumbledore would have told James and Lily," Sirius said, "in order to assure that they would protect him. I must question whether Dumbledore had a role to play in James and Lily's murders."

Remus grimaced. "Potter Manor was far more protected than Godric's Hollow. We both know that. If James and Lily had remained there with Harry, they could have had plenty of time to escape Voldemort's attack as soon as they realized he was at their ward boundaries. I don't know how he was able to convince them to move."

"Just another question to ask the old bastard before I strangle him with his intestines," Sirius growled; then he sighed audibly, deeply and looked at Harry. "Alright, kid. Say you have my support in the idea that it must be you who defeats the psychopath. What exactly happens that night? I imagine Voldemort would make his return some kind of sadistic party. So I imagine he is going to invite the Death Eaters which are currently not serving time in Azkaban?"

"Indeed," Harry said.

"Okay," Sirius said, "Say that you're going to be able to kill this serpent. Then you destroy the psychopath. What are you going to do about the Death Eaters who will likely do their best to stop you?"

Harry looked at Hermione, who frowned and nodded. He then turned back to Sirius.

"Oh, they'll be dead long before the night Voldemort returns," Harry said with a grin.

"How?" Sirius asked.

"I am pleased you asked," Harry said. "You see, that is another reason we revealed these secrets to you. I realized recently that even if I destroy Voldemort a year from now, the wizarding world might have to deal with the surviving Death Eaters who may wish to retaliate after the death of their Dark Lord. Unless... we do something about it first. So I convinced Hermione -"

"You haven't completely convinced me, Harry," Hermione said, "But I'll likely go along with it anyway."

"As I was saying," Harry said, "I explained to Hermione that the Death Eaters need to be stopped. This summer, in fact. I am planning on assassinating each and every one of those bastards who are out and about."

"Are you serious?" Remus said.

"No, I am!" Sirius said, with a laugh as he straightened and grinned at Harry, "And I for one entirely agree with this plan! What say you, cousin?"

"No comment... for now," Tonks said.

"You're no fun," Sirius said, "Either of you – you and Remus."

Remus sighed audibly as he glared at Sirius. Then he cleared his throat and looked back at Harry.

"Say that I might come to agreement with this mad plan of yours, Harry," Remus said, "Exactly how will you accomplish this?"

"Well, it could be a bit more complicated if Tonks doesn't want to join us," Harry said.

"Why?" Tonks asked.

"You're the only one at the moment who has access into certain departments in the Ministry," Harry said, "You see, to even begin with the plan, we have to find out where the Death Eaters live. I would also like to get hold of some blueprints of the houses that the Death Eaters live in. I imagine the Ministry has that information."

"Residential information may be in public records," Remus said, "But the blueprints? Quite unlikely."

"Yes, but there is a problem," Harry said, "If we were to ask for the residential information, then suddenly said residents end up brutally murdered, we're going to be the ones who get blamed. Such information has to be stolen."

"Which is why you need an insider to steal it," Sirius said.

"An insider who is a Metamorphmagus and won't be identified if someone happens to catch sight of her," Harry said, "An insider who wouldn't even have to be part of the assassinations -"

"The hell I wouldn't be!" Tonks huffed, "I'm the only one here who is anywhere near legally qualified to be an Auror."

"So you're in?" Harry asked, with a smirk.

"I didn't say that," Tonks said.

"Some bodyguard you are," Harry huffed.

Tonks rolled her eyes.

"Harry?" Remus asked, "When do you expect these assassinations to take place?"

"Anytime before the twenty-fifth of August," Harry said.

"Why that exact date?" Remus asked.

"The finals of the Quidditch World Cup takes place," Harry said, "During the late night hours after the match, Death Eaters will attack the campground. Unless we do something about it first. The larger number of dead Death Eaters, the less that will be there to attack. Also, the less that will be in the graveyard the night I destroy Voldemort."

Remus, Sirius, and Tonks exchanged glances, each with pale faces.

"Are you in or out?" Harry asked, "Either way, I will be doing this."

"I'm in, Harry," Hermione said, clutching Harry's hand.

"I already said I am in!" Sirius said.

"What kind of bodyguard would I be if I wasn't there to help you?" Tonks asked; obviously her mind had quickly changed after she realized the immediate impact of _not _going through with the plan, "I might keep my promise to kill you before my job is over though."

Harry smiled wryly, then looked at Remus. Remus glanced around at the four individuals in the room.

"Ah, hell," Remus huffed, "I'm in."

"Knew you'd get there in the end, Moony!" Sirius barked.

"I am in," Remus said, "But with reservation. If I feel that you're not prepared for this, I reserve the right to cancel it."

Harry sighed and glanced at Hermione.

"He's right, Harry," Hermione said, "If we're not completely prepared, it might not work."

"Fine," Harry said, "I agree."

"Excellent!" Sirius said, "When do we begin said preparations?"

"I am staying at Hermione's house until a week from this Saturday," Harry said, "Any time after that."

"I'm okay with that," Tonks said, "Should give me enough time to figure exactly how I am going to steal the needed information from the Ministry."

Remus and Sirius agreed as well.

"As for where you'll be living after you leave Hermione's house?" Sirius asked, "Any plans, kid?"

"As I said in one of my letters to you," Harry said, "Potter Manor sounds like a proper permanent residence, but I would like to visit the beach house in La Rochelle, France too. Hermione and I thought we could go to the beach house the week of my birthday."

"Excellent," Sirius said, again, "I certainly agree with that. One problem though. I can't exactly remember where your properties are."

"Hmm... me neither," Remus said.

"Fidelius Charm?" Hermione asked.

"Perhaps," Remus said, nodding, "Which means they were placed sometime after James and Lily's deaths."

"Then who –?" Harry started, then he growled in realization. "Dumbledore! How the hell am I supposed to access the properties then?"

"Harry, you are forgetting," Remus said, "They are _Potter _properties. They legally and magically belong to you, as a Potter. I imagine there are Portkeys to the locations in your Family Vault. You say you took your Inheritance Test? So you have your family ring?"

Harry summoned his ring to his hand and revealed it.

"There you go then," Remus said, "Once on the properties, you can simply command your ring to speak to the property and remove all alien charms, curses and what-not – charms that were not set by Potters – and the Fidelius Charm should be removed."

"Thank Merlin," Harry sighed in relief.

"So, kid," Sirius said, "Aside from the long story of your future events you promised to tell us sometime, do you have anymore dramatic secrets to reveal to us."

"Hmm," Harry said, thinking, "Just one more. This one Tonks is well aware of. I am betrothed to three ladies."

Remus raised his eyebrows as an amused smile crossed his lips. Sirius barked a loud laugh.

"You lucky boy!" Sirius exclaimed; he then looked from Harry to Hermione, "How do you feel about this, Hermione? I assume the two of you are – er – _involved. _You haven't stopped holding hands since you walked in here."

"We're a couple if that is what you are inquiring," Hermione said. "As for your question – I am slowly getting used to the fact that Harry will be married to a three additional women in a few years."

"Additional?" Sirius asked, "Is there something you want to tell us, kids?"

"Nothing is official, we're too young, of course," Hermione said. "But – well, look at it from my position. In my mind, I feel like I should be eighteen years old. Any of my peers are some years younger than me if you take that into consideration. Also, I can't see myself with anyone besides Harry. So, as far as I can see, I need to put up with Harry having additional wives, because more than likely, I'll be one of them."

Sirius chuckled. "You are like your father, Harry, when it comes to choice in women. Hermione may not be a ginger with green eyes, but she reminds me so much of your mother. Feisty and knows how to speak her mind. So... who are the lucky ladies?"

"Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones and Luna Lovegood," Harry said.

Sirius raised his eyebrows and grinned. "Children of the Great Alliance. Your father actually went through with his ideas."

"Hmm?" Harry asked.

"The first few weeks after your birth," Remus said, "James kept bringing up ideas, planning your future out for you. Some of these ideas he kept from Lily. At least for a while. I assume she learned about them before she died. Anyway, James was saying that he needed to get off his butt and do something about his father's political alliance. He wanted to make sure the Alliance survived. He talked about meeting with various members of the Alliance, and writing up Betrothal Contracts. After a few months, he never brought up the topics again. We just assumed Lily had talked him out of the idea. But now it appears he was successful, and wanted to keep such things secret."

"We knew there was a spy in the Order," Sirius said, "I reckon he just kept silent about the contracts so he wouldn't risk endangering you or those in the Alliance. Like Remus said, he never brought it up again, so we never spoke about it again."

"Have you spoken to any of your Betrothed's parents or guardians yet?" Remus asked, "They may know more about what James had planned."

"We spoke to Amelia Bones about it," Harry said; he noticed that a curious smile had crossed Sirius' face at the mention of Amelia, "Luna's father and Daphne's parents want you to be present during such meetings to discuss the contracts, Sirius. Even though I am Emancipated, they would like a legal adult guardian on both sides of the discussion."

Sirius blinked out of his reverie. "That is my job as your godfather. I'll be there. I may have some knowledge of Betrothal Contracts swimming somewhere around my slowly-healing memory. So I am sure I'll be of some assistance."

"Great," Harry said, "Mr. Lovegood and Luna wish to meet with us after your trial – which I am sure will go smoothly – so that we can discuss a date to go through with the Betrothal. They've also invited Hermione and her parents to the meeting, though I don't understand why. Aside from the fact that Xenophilius wants to meet Hermione and her parents. But I know Xenophilius a bit. He is rather strange. He has something up his sleeve. I just don't know what."

"I am sure it is nothing aside from the fact that he wishes to meet me and my parents, Harry," Hermione said. "Luna must know how close we are. She probably believes we'll all soon be family, and that is what she told her father."

"I guess so," Harry said. "Well, that is roughly everything we wanted to reveal today. Any questions you particularly want to know?"

"Romance!" Sirius said, immediately, "I am sure you could tell us who our respective loved ones were in the future! Make it easier on us."

Harry did his best not to glance at Remus and Tonks. As much as he would love to have his godson Teddy again, he wasn't sure whether or not they would become a couple again. As for Sirius, well, he didn't exactly want to reveal his godfather's fate just yet, especially since there was no chance of it happening again.

"Sorry, I cannot answer that," Harry said, "It might ruin the future."

"You're already messing with the future, kid!" Sirius said.

"Romance is not a life and death situation," Harry said.

Sirius huffed. "Fine."

"Anyone else?" Harry asked.

Remus opened his mouth, then changed his mind and shook his head.

"I have a question not relating to the future," Tonks said. "When are you going to tell your parents about your secret, Hermione?"

Hermione frowned. "Definitely not until after Voldemort is defeated. I'm not looking forward to it."

"Alright," Tonks said, "I will do my best to keep silent about such things around them."

"Perhaps we should take an Honor Vow regarding such things," Remus suggested. "We're dealing with some pretty risky information."

"Wands are necessary for such things, Moony," Sirius said, "Mine is currently in Ministry custody."

"I completely trust everyone in here," Harry said, "Honor Vows are unnecessary. But if you still feel the same way after Saturday, then we can take the Vow."

It was mutually agreed.

"Have any of you had lunch yet?" Sirius asked.

"We came straight here from Gringotts," Harry said, "So no."

"Then we shall go to the Leaky Cauldron," Sirius said, "My treat!"

"Er... Sirius?" Hermione said, "You're not proclaimed innocent yet, and I don't think the Leaky Cauldron welcomes dogs."

"Tom knows what is going on," Sirius said, "We will get a private room."

"Well, if you're sure," Harry said,

Sirius' grin assured him that he was. So the group made their way out of the flat, and headed for the Leaky Cauldron, ready for good food and far more innocent conversation.

* * *

**Chapter finished. Unfortunately you won't be seeing any of that lunch. Next chapter consists of other Point-of-Views. Something I've been putting off now for... three chapters!**

**I have a new favorite quote in this story: "Happy now, Remus? You share Slug Club alumni status with Voldemort!"**

**Did I miss anything that could have been discussed in this chapter, aside from Harry and Hermione describing events of the other timeline, which might happen in distant chapters? I think I got everything I wanted.**

**I am sure this chapter caused questions about any future of Remus and Tonks. There will be no romantic future between them. More than likely, Tonks will be one of Harry's girls. Harry and Hermione will have some regrets at first about what might have been, but Tonks present situation with Harry and Hermione changes her future. At the moment, I don't know Remus' fate when it comes to romance.  
**

**I could have had Remus ask one of several questions: inquiring about Fenrir Greyback, werewolves in general, and Alice and Frank Longbottom's fate, but I couldn't figure exactly how to word any of it. So he decided he didn't want to know, and kept silent. More questions and inquiries about the future might come up in later chapters. Will Sirius learn of his fate in the other timeline? I don't know. Haven't decided.**

**Two more chapters until Sirius' trial. I think.**

**Hope you liked this chapter! It teased certain events that will happen in the future. Some I am looking forward to very much, and keeping quite silent about!**

**Additional Note: Sirius' tale about Regulus and his father inspired partially by the story "Arya Lily Potter" by Kirstenlh23. (FFN: 11009412)**


	21. Weasley Woes

**Chapter 21  
Weasley Woes  
**

**Author's Note: Wow, this chapter was easier to get through than I assumed! Surprising, since it is a rather complicated plot, something that usually slows me down.**

**Even though the first part of this chapter may seem like it, this is not a Ginny (nor a Harry/Ginny ship) bashing story. She's just trying to get past her obsession and jealousy surrounding Harry. She's young and heartbroken. She gets better soon. She'll have nice things happening later in the story. And one very nice thing happening in this chapter. As for certain other Weasleys... yeah, not-so-nice things happen.**

**A fairly large part of this chapter is descriptive paragraphs with no dialogue. Only when I was finished with the scenes did I realize this.**

* * *

Ginny Weasley was not having the happiest early days of the summer holiday.

For starters, her mind refused to stop thinking about Harry Potter. In recent years, she had welcomed thoughts about him. Now she just wanted to forget about him.

She would deny to her very last breath that she was heartbroken over him. She would also deny that she was extremely jealous of Hermione Granger, and three other girls. One of those girls was a Slytherin! How could Harry even put up with her? Susan Bones – well – Ginny could see how Harry might come to love her. She was attractive and had the best physical attributes of her year, something which Ginny could only hope for. Then there was the third girl. Luna had been her best friend from the age of five. Why was Luna Lovegood so lucky to have what she could not? What fates had decided Luna Lovegood could be betrothed to marry Harry Potter, and not her, Ginny Weasley?

She had received owl post from Luna early in the morning; the owl had delivered the newest edition of the Quibbler as well as a personal letter from Luna. In the letter, Luna briefly mentioned her betrothal to Harry. Technically, Luna and Harry weren't betrothed _yet, _but after the official meeting between Harry and Luna's father, it would become official. Luna would technically be Harry's long-term fiancee, since a wedding was likely in the distant future. Luna didn't even consider herself Harry's girlfriend – that was Hermione's role. But she believed things might change if Harry wanted more than one girlfriend in the future.

Ginny had resisted very hard to rip up the letter in jealousy. She had yet to send a reply letter. At the moment she didn't feel like sending one.

Ginny was very confused about Harry and Hermione's relationship. How did their relationship evolve so quickly – as if overnight – from best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend? How had Ginny not noticed? She had been studying Hermione's behavior around Harry to see if she could detect any hint of romantic feelings for him. Sure, she suspected Hermione did fancy Harry, but Ginny had not detected any hint that Hermione would do anything about it. And Harry... well, he was so absolutely shy that Ginny didn't worry about any threats of him asking a girl on a date for a while. How had things changed so quickly? Who had asked out whom? How had it begun?

Ginny could also tell that it was likely going to evolve into a serious relationship. The couple had dissolved their friendship with her brother, Ron, simply because he was jealous that Harry was Hermione's boyfriend. She wouldn't even begin to question how Ron hadn't noticed the attraction between the couple. She knew he was oblivious to such things. All Ginny knew was that the Golden Trio's relationship was over... and likely on a permanent basis. She didn't need Hermione's own words to prove that. She could still hear in her head exactly what Hermione had said when her relationship with Harry had gone public.

_"Ron is __no longer our friend because he's too stupid to get over his petty jealousy that we're a couple. I hope others don't make the same mistake."_

Ginny wasn't stupid. She knew that Hermione was speaking directly to her. The message was clear. She would either be their friend – _only as a friend to Harry – _or she would lose their friendship. It was an obvious defensive maneuver. Hermione was marking her claim. Ginny could also hear the unsaid words: Hermione was threatened by her.

Ginny sighed, as she laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Not that she would ever give the satisfaction to Hermione, but she was just about ready to give up on Harry Potter. Even if she _could _become Harry's girlfriend, Harry would be contractually obligated to marry three other girls. Hermione might believe she could live with being one of four wives, but Ginny could not. Spreading his love around to three other girls plus her, instead of focusing it all on her would be too much to bear.

"I'm going to be thirteen in two months," Ginny said to nothing but her own bedroom, "I believe that is perfect time for me to try my hand at dating. I need thing to take my mind off of Harry, and a nice date in Hogsmeade with somebody would be an excellent start."

Satisfied that she had quelled her thoughts of Harry Potter, her mind went elsewhere. Even ignoring the thoughts of Harry, her summer still hadn't started off in the best way possible. Ron's unexplained illness was annoying now that she was in a closer proximity to him. At Hogwarts, she could appreciate the humor like her twin brothers did, simply because she didn't have to visit him at the Hospital Wing, therefore, he wasn't in proximity to her.

For the first weekend of the summer, Ron had spent every minute of the day in the sitting room. Ron's inability to say very many words wasn't so bad. Whenever he began choking due to his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth, that was a little discouraging at first, especially since her mother would rush to Ron's aide whenever it happened. But the random bouts of flatulence, and the following odor had been unbearable! She would have to hold her breath every time she had walked through the sitting room, and sometime the odor had even wafted up the stairs before her mother had been able to place the air-freshening Charms.

Finally on Monday, her father had had enough. He had personally assisted moving Ron up to his attic bedroom, where Ron had now been isolated over the past three days. Ginny was well aware that Ron would likely be easily healed by professional Healers at St. Mungo's. But her mother had simply refused to take him to the hospital, stating that she could figure out how to cure her son – something she had yet to do in nearly two weeks. Molly Weasley was by far the most stubborn member of the family.

Thankfully the sitting room was now open and odor-free. Now that she wouldn't have to be in his vicinity, she could find her brother's ailment amusing again. Of course, she couldn't show such amusement around her mother, lest she be lectured that she should be nicer to her sick brother; after all, her mother said, what if she was in Ron's shoes? Fred and George – as usual – didn't mind their mother's lectures or reproachful glares. They had taken every opportunity to poke fun at their little brother. Fred and George had even confided in Ginny that they were currently inventing a non-magical Bubble-Head Charm. Ginny pictured fishbowls whenever she thought about it.

A sudden, sharp pecking noise broke Ginny out of her reverie and she looked over at her window, and found an unfamiliar owl sitting on the windowsill. She quickly stood up and walked over to the window and opened it. The owl flew into the room, hovered over Ginny's desk and dropped an envelope onto it, then flew back out the window. Apparently the owl needed no reply, nor expected one from her.

Ginny picked up the envelope and studied it. Her eyes widened as she recognized the Gringotts seal on the back. On the front, the writing was indeed addressed to her. For a brief moment, she thought it strange that an owl was bringing post directly to her. Usually all post – even when it was directed to her or one of her siblings – came straight into the kitchen so it could be 'checked for any possibly negative reactions' according to her mother. But this, this was taken directly to her – for her eyes only, or at least first!

She walked back over to her bed, sat down and opened the envelope. It immediately transformed into a letter. She began to read it:

_Miss Ginevra Molly Weasley,_

_Greetings. My name is Ragnok the Sixth, one of the Vault Keepers of Gringotts, London Branch. I'm sure you remember meeting me at Hogwarts recently when we traveled into the Chamber of Secrets._

_Earlier this morning, I took part in a meeting which involved Lord Harry James Potter. Amongst other things, the Basilisk was discussed, including the projected sales and total earnings Lord Potter had amassed. The total projected earnings, after taxes kept by Gringotts Bank was eighteen million Galleons (G18,000,000). Lord Potter immediately suggested splitting up the profits among various outlets, including the victims of the heinous events which took place in the 92-93 School Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Your name was brought up, Miss Weasley._

_Lord Potter has graciously donated two million Galleons (G2,000,000) to you for your troubles during your first year at Hogwarts. Lord Potter has also requested that the entire donation is exclusively in your name. While he has suggested this, he also understands if you wish to give a portion to your family._

_(Note: Every victim of the event received equal amount of Galleons, to be fair.)_

_A Vault in your name will be opened as soon as possible where your new fortune will be placed. To finalize the procedure, you're presence is required at Gringotts at a time and date you see fit – preferably sooner rather than later - where you will meet with me to sign various paperwork and receive your Vault Key. Because you are under the age of seventeen, you are required to have a parent or guardian with you during our meeting. However, as requested by Lord Potter, you will make all decisions during the meeting on your own regarding your new fortune._

_Please have your parent or guardian send a reply with suggested date and time, as well as their signature, as soon as possible._

_I look forward to doing business with you._

_May your new-found fortune flourish,_

_Keeper Ragnok The Sixth_  
_Gringotts, London Branch_

Ginny felt faint as she finished the letter, and had to read it again to make sure she had completely understood it. She was not hallucinating. Harry had given her _two million Galleons!_

"Oh, Merlin, Harry," Ginny said, "That is way too much! I don't even know what to do with such a fortune!"

Her eyes found a certain line of the letter. Every single victim had received the same amount: Colin, Justin, Penelope. Even Hermione, Harry's girlfriend, had not received more than she did! Still her earlier statement was true. Two million Galleons was quite a bit of money. Even if she had given a small percentage of the fortune to her family, she would still have way more than enough for several lifetimes.

True, now that she thought about it, the money would last well into the future to where she would be using it on her own children and grandchildren, and even further down the line. Her own children would never have to own second-hand clothes, books, or other items like her siblings had to endure. The thought filled her with joy.

Ginny emitted a loud sigh and decided she needed to show the letter to her mother. She feared how her mother would react. Would her mother demand she return the money. She had a valid argument against it, but money was always a touchy subject in the Weasley household, and now Ginny had more than she knew what to do with. Simply because she was a 'victim'.

Ginny laughed mirthlessly at the thought. She may have been a victim, but she had been the one choosing the victims, setting the Basilisk on them. True, she had been possessed and didn't know what she had been doing. But Riddle had used her body –

"Stop!" Ginny growled. "Do not think about that, Ginevra Weasley!"

Ginny thought back to her most recent (and voluntary) visit into the Chamber of Secrets. She remembered a piece of conversation with Harry, where he had asked her about therapy. She knew mental therapy was a good idea. A Mind Healer would help her get over what had happened during her first year at Hogwarts. They might even be able to help her understand and quell her obsession with Harry Potter. And she could afford the best now thanks to Harry.

Yet another discussion she needed with her parents. Her mother had refused to send her to a Mind Healer, saying it wasn't necessary. What a load that was! First her own psychological needs, now her youngest brother's physical needs. Her mother had refused to get professional treatment for either. What was up with that?

Ginny shrugged the thought away and started her trek out of her bedroom and down into the kitchen. Some peculiar smells were wafting from the kitchen as she arrived. She couldn't pinpoint the odors, but it was definitely not food. She soon discovered that the odor was coming from a cauldron her mother was standing in front of.

"Hey, Mum?" Ginny said.

"Stay back, Ginny," her mother said, "Some of the ingredients send off dangerous fumes if you get too close. Thankfully I have a few charms set on myself to counter-act them."

"Um... okay," Ginny said, remaining where she was standing, "What are you brewing?"

"Something that may help Ronald with his illness," her mother said. "Hopefully he'll be back on his feet in no time. Don't need a professional Healer when we have good home-cooking expertise! Did you need something, dear?"

"A couple minutes ago I received owl post in my room," Ginny said, "A letter from Gringotts."

"They didn't bring it to the kitchen window?" her mother asked, then her eyes widened, as she looked at the letter in Ginny's hand, "You opened it?! Ginevra Weasley, what if the letter had a hex on it! I already have one ill child!"

Ginny did her best to refrain from rolling her eyes. Thankfully she succeeded. Her mother was quite wrong. Until she met with a professional Mind Healer, she would label herself as 'ill' too. What was a mail-hex compared to the horrors she had experienced?

"It is from Gringotts, Mum," Ginny said, "Do you honestly believe a Goblin would send a hex by mail!"

"You never know, Ginevra," Molly said, "There has been many a terrible Goblin. William should never have taken up a career with them."

"Well, this letter was exclusively for my eyes first," Ginny said.

Her mother frowned. "I still should have seen it first."

"Better late than never," Ginny said, smiling, as she handed her mother the letter.

"You spend too much time with Fred and George," her mother said. "You should spend more time with Percy."

Ginny held back a snort. Percy didn't want to be bothered. Between the aftermath of his girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, breaking up with him, and waiting anxiously for his NEWT results, Percy was quite insufferable as of late.

Ginny watched as her mother read the letter. Her eyes and mouth widened every so often as she continued reading.

"Ginny, are you sure this wasn't a prank letter from your brothers?" her mother finally asked. "It is rather a funny coincidence that this letter came to you on the day the Quibbler was published with the article about that horrid Chamber. And I am still not pleased you went down into that Chamber! It was dangerous."

_Far less dangerous than last time I was there, _Ginny thought but dared not to say out loud.

"Mum, the letter was delivered by an owl I didn't recognize," Ginny said, "The envelope was definitely from Gringotts. And the author of the letter! That is Ragnok the Sixth. He is Goblin Royalty! I highly doubt it is a prank. You could write back to them and confirm the letter and information inside is real."

"That is true," her mother said, "But... my goodness, Ginny. If this is truly real. Well, that is a large fortune. You shouldn't accept it. We don't accept charity in our family. You know that."

"Mum, it isn't charity!" Ginny said, "Harry split the profits of the shares up to the victims. We each got equal profits."

Her mother frowned. "I did read that, yes."

"Mum," Ginny said, "That money would change my life – our lives. The lives of future generations of Weasleys. My children, grandchildren..."

Her mother sighed, then folded up the letter and placed it on the kitchen counter with the other post.

"We'll wait to discuss this any further until your father comes home, Ginevra," she said, "Then we'll see what should be done. My goodness. _Two million Galleons_?!"

Ginny held back a frustrated sigh. The letter said it was exclusively her decision. Harry wanted it that way. Why must it be discussed between her parents? Why did she have to have her parents write the reply letter, and be a part of her meeting at Gringotts? This was exclusively her money! So unfair!

Suddenly a large thumping sound was heard from somewhere floors above.

"Was that the twins or Ron?" Ginny asked.

"My goodness, Ronald!" her mother exclaimed, "I hope he didn't fall off the bed! Ginevra, do not get near that cauldron, but stay here to make sure the twins don't come near it! I will be back shortly."

Then she raced out of the kitchen and soon Ginny could hear her mother ascend the stairs. Ginny sighed in frustration. As she did, the odors from the Potion wafted through her nostrils. She could smell something similar to a plant in one of the Greenhouses at Hogwarts, as well as pond water. What exactly was her mother brewing?!

Suddenly, Ginny heard a sharp cracking sound followed shortly by another. At first she thought it came from upstairs, then realized it was coming from outside. She walked over to the door and peered out the window. Her father was home early! And he was not alone. She recognized that woman. That was Madam Amelia Bones, the aunt of Susan Bones, one of Harry's betrothed. What was she doing here? Why was her father home early?

By the time she snapped out of her thoughts, her father and Madam Bones were approaching the front door. They paused and spoke to each other. Her father seemed sad about something. Fear ran through Ginny's mind. Had something happened to Bill or Charlie?

Ginny then realized her mother didn't know her father had come home early.

"Mum!" she yelled, "Daddy's home! And he's not alone!"

* * *

_(Some minutes earlier)_

Amelia Bones stepped out of the lifts and onto level two of the Ministry of Magic. She had just spent the morning in her office researching connections between Albus Dumbledore and some of his known allies. If she couldn't take down Albus Dumbledore for another year, she could at least bring down some of those connected to him who had done criminal things in the past, or had allegations of taking part in criminal wrongdoings. Weakening Dumbledore through his connections may prevent him from performing some of his future schemes over the next year.

The first of these connections was Severus Snape. He was now in a cell in Azkaban, where he would be for the next five years. It was decided he would live out his sentence in Cell Block B, instead of Cell Block C where Bellatrix Lestrange and some of the more deranged and dangerous Death Eaters were locked up. Snape may be a convicted Death Eater, but he was nowhere near as dangerous as those in Cell Block C.

The fact that Sirius Black – an apparently innocent man – had spent more than a decade in Cell Block C, with people like his cousin Bellatrix Lestrange, this made Amelia mad every time she thought about it. She was counting down the days until Sirius would be a free man. She would do everything in her power to make sure that happened on Saturday.

Sirius had yet to turn himself into Ministry custody, as had been offered by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Amelia could have informed Fudge of that from the beginning. Whatever little freedom Sirius had at the moment, he wasn't going to give it up to a few days in a Ministry holding cell. Sirius would show up to his trial, there was no doubt about it. And everything Amelia knew about Sirius told her that he would likely want to make his own entrance instead of being escorted by Aurors.

Amelia stepped into the tiny cubicle-like office known as the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department, where she found Arthur Weasley and Percival Perkins sitting at a desk. Arthur smiled when he saw her.

"Good afternoon, Madam Bones," he said, "What can I do you for today? Did one of your own find illegally charmed Muggle objects while on a raid?"

"No, nothing like that," Amelia said, "My visit has nothing to do with your Department. This is more of a personal issue. Can I speak to you in private, Arthur?"

Arthur frowned and stood up. "Of course, Madam."

Amelia led Arthur away from the small office space and over to a more private area.

"Arthur, I am going to get right into it," she said, "I have reasons to believe that your wife, Molly, is in the middle of some illegal business. Also I am interested in speaking to your son, Ron and possibly your daughter, Ginny, as well. While I was interrogating Severus Snape, he mentioned all three having some possible criminal connections."

Arthur's brow furrowed. "What exactly are you accusing members of my family of?"

"I am not accusing your children of anything just yet," Amelia said. "But your wife... I have reason to believe she could be brewing illegal Potions and planning to use them in illegal manners. Specifically Amortentia."

Arthur sighed audibly. "I thought we were well past such things."

"Are you telling me she has done this before?" Amelia asked, narrowing her eyebrows.

"Several years ago I caught her in the middle of brewing Love Potions," Arthur said, "She admitted to me she was going to make them for a certain girl she had her eye on, in the hopes this girl would marry my eldest, William. What do you think she is doing this time?"

"I have reason to believe – from information given to me by Severus Snape," Amelia said, "That Molly is brewing Amortentia meant for Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. The potion would make Harry fall in love with Ginny, and Hermione fall in love with Ron. Recently Harry and Hermione became a couple, and it appears that there are people who do not like such a pairing, and would go as far as breaking them up by dosing them with Amortentia."

"Which I assume is why you wish to question Ron and Ginny," Arthur said.

"Yes," Amelia said. "Just to make sure whether or not they are connected to anything that they personally know of. Snape told me that he believes Molly may be doing this as a favor for someone else, not for her own means entirely. I also have reason to believe that Molly has stolen money from Harry Potter."

Arthur looked shocked. "_What?_"

"I spoke to the Vault Keeper for the Potter House at Gringotts," Amelia said. "There appears to be strange coincidences over the years when it comes to Harry's Trust Vault losing money, and Molly's personal Vault gaining funds at the same time. This happened long before Harry came into the wizarding world, so there was no way he could take the money. I need to speak to Molly about both of these things: the Amortentia and the Gringotts business. I have come to you first, because I wish for you to be at your house, as the Head of your family, when I confront your wife."

Arthur frowned and nodded. "I think that would be wise. I might be able to keep her calm during such a discussion. I'll tell Perkins I will take the remainder of the afternoon off."

Arthur returned to his station and a few moments later he came back. Amelia and Arthur then made their way to the lifts. Ten minutes later, after using the Apparation-Safe platform in the Ministry's Atrium, they were making their way down the driveway toward the towering residence known as the Burrow.

"Ronald is just recuperating after a bad leg break and a few ugly hexes a couple weeks ago," Arthur said, as he and Amelia walked down the driveway, "He has been sleeping in the sitting room for the past couple of weeks, and was only able to return to his own bedroom a couple days ago. His leg is mended, but the hexes are still bothering him. The Flatulence Hex is a bad one... making the sitting room and kitchen rather odorous at times. Thank goodness for Air-Freshening Charms. We haven't figured out how to get rid of the hexes yet. Molly's been quite worried about it."

"Have you spoken to anyone at St. Mungo's about it?" Amelia asked. "I'm sure they could fix him up easily."

"I am sure they could," Arthur agreed, "But Molly is stubborn, as per usual. She believes she can cure Ron. Madam Bones, I must ask. These charges... is it something that Molly could go to Azkaban for?"

"I don't know yet, Arthur," Amelia said. "If so, I imagine it will be for five years or less. Depends on how severe the charges are, and what Molly has done. Though I must admit... Cell Block A in Azkaban might be a better option than what the Goblins at Gringotts would do to her. The Potter House is one of major respect in Gringotts. It is old money, something Gringotts values. If Molly is guilty of stealing from them, they could do much worse to her than Azkaban would."

"Which is frightening to think about," Arthur said.

"I can agree with that," Amelia said.

As Amelia and Arthur approached the Burrow, a peculiar smell wafted in their direction from inside the Burrow.

"Ah, Molly must be getting an early start on dinner!" Arthur said, with a smile.

"Only if dinner smells like wet dog fur," Amelia said.

She knew exactly what that smell was. Arthur's eyes widened and his lips creased into a frown as he too must have realized they weren't smelling some good home-cooking.

"Oh, Molly," Arthur said, sadly, "You haven't!"

Arthur's youngest child and only daughter, Ginny, was waiting for them at the front door when they arrived.

"Daddy!" Ginny said, "What are you doing home early?"

"I – ahem – Ginny?" Arthur asked, "I think it would be best if you remained in your bedroom unless I call for you."

"Does this have anything to do with Bill and Charlie?" Ginny asked; she looked close to crying, obviously she thought Amelia's presence meant something had happened to her brothers.

"Oh, sweetheart, no," Arthur said, "I'm sure they're just fine. Go on, now. Where is your mother?"

"She was with Ron, I think," Ginny said, "I called for her to come down when I saw you coming."

"Alright," Arthur said, "Come inside, Amelia. Go on, Ginny."

Ginny frowned as she looked from her father to Amelia, then nodded and ran through the kitchen.

"Oh, dear," Arthur said, with a sigh, "Molly..."

Amelia found what Arthur had just encountered. A large cauldron was sitting on the kitchen table, and peculiar and familiar odors were emanating from it. Amelia recognized the brew in the Cauldron for what it was: Amortentia – Love Potion.

Amelia heard footsteps and turned to find Molly Weasley walk into the kitchen. Her eyes went from Arthur to Amelia, then to the cauldron, and her expression turned to one of concern and fright.

"Arthur, what is going on?" she asked.

"Molly," Amelia said, taking charge of the conversation, "Are you aware that Amortentia is a Class C illegal substance outside of educational purposes and Ministry of Magic usage?"

Molly shuddered visibly and sank down into one of the chairs at the table.

"Actively brewing such a potion for private use," Amelia continued, "could result in heavy fines. Intent of use for illegal means is far more serious. I am sure you are aware of the arrest and incarceration of Severus Snape. During his interrogation, he told an interesting story of some apparent deals being made through various individuals. He pointed a finger at you, Molly. He claimed that Albus Dumbledore had requested that he brew Amortentia for illegal purposes. Then he claimed that due to his incarceration, Albus Dumbledore would look for another source for such a potion. You, Molly."

"Severus Snape is a criminal as you well know, Amelia!" Molly said, "A Death Eater – I don't care what Albus Dumbledore claims about Snape's innocence. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater. And his behavior during his tenure as Potions Master. You should have heard the way my children spoke of him and wrote about him in letters they sent home. Do you honestly believe he was telling you the truth?"

Amelia raised an eyebrow. She recognized such a defense mechanism anywhere, turning blame on someone else.

"Severus Snape spoke those claims under threat of loss of his magic, Molly," Amelia said, "He took an Honor Vow to only speak the truth on pain of becoming a Squib. At the end of the interview, he could still perform magic. He was completely honest in everything he said."

"Then it was misinformation!" Molly attempted.

"Molly, the evidence is right in front of us," Amelia said. "I recognized those specific amorous odors anywhere. I smelled a specific scent, and your husband smelled another. At first he had mistaken the aroma of your home-cooking, because that is what he smells in the vicinity of Amortentia. That is Amortentia, Molly. An illegal substance."

"Severus Snape was telling the truth," Molly said, "Albus Dumbledore – he contacted me. You know how he can be when he gets his hooks in you. He wanted me to brew the Potion."

"Then I assume that Snape was telling the truth as to who the Amortentia was intended for," Amelia said. "You were going to attempt to dose Hermione Granger, and the Potion's effects would have her falling into fabricated, artificial love for your son, Ron. You would also attempt to dose Harry Potter, for your daughter, Ginny. Molly, have you ever heard the phrase Line Theft?"

Molly shuddered again.

Amelia continued. "A piece of information that might not have crossed your ears. Harry Potter is contractually Betrothed to three girls. One of which is my niece, Susan. So you can understand that I take a personal interest in this. Three girls, plus Harry, that is four Houses. Four counts of Line Theft. Hermione Granger is romantically involved with Harry Potter, as I am sure you know, and as far as I can tell, their relationship may last to a time when Harry isn't only married to his three Betrothed, but his girlfriend as well. Hermione is a Muggleborn, but any children she and Harry may have – that is yet another count of possible Line Theft, bringing the total to five."

"Dumbledore is responsible for all of this!" Molly said, "It is Dumbledore who these charges should be against."

"So you're going to make me believe," Amelia said, "that you have no part in the fact that Ron and Ginny, your own children, would take part in the plot if it was successful? Am I to believe that Ron and Ginny are entirely to blame in their part of the scheme?"

"My children are innocent!" Molly cried.

"Make me believe it then," Amelia said, "I will be talking to both of them, but I'd very much like to hear it from you. Did you or did you not agree to the plan that included to involve your children in the schemes to entrap Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in the effects of Amortentia? Is that why you wanted to brew the potion? Because your children would have a part in it! Molly, your husband already informed me of a past misdeed in which you tried to ensnare an innocent witch for your eldest son, William. The evidence is stacked against you."

"Alright!" Molly growled, "Yes! I took part in Dumbledore's scheme with full knowledge of the plan. Dumbledore had informed me that Hermione Granger had snared her hooks into Harry Potter. A Muggleborn, involved in what may ultimately become a serious relationship with the Boy-Who-Lived, the Savior of the Wizarding World! The Potters come a very long magical bloodline. To further poison it with children from a Muggleborn's womb? That is criminal behavior. My daughter is a pureblood witch, born of the Weasley and Prewett line! Two bloodlines which should have power in our society. To mix them with the Potter bloodline would bring those lines back to where they belong."

"If you truly believe what you are saying," Amelia said, "Then I must ask you this. If you believe a Muggleborn would only 'taint' a bloodline, then why scheme to ensnare Hermione for your son?"

"I would never allow such a relationship to go so far," Molly said. "Ron fancies Hermione. Nothing more."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. Such a statement made her that much more suspicious toward the youngest son of the Weasleys. She would definitely be interrogating him. Ginny, on the other hand. Amelia knew there was likely nothing more than a schoolgirl fancy for Harry from Ginny. Nothing to point to something so sinister.

"Very well," Amelia said. "Molly, aside from the criminal charges already listed, you are also suspected of Theft of a different kind. You see, I spoke to Keeper Ragnok at Gringotts, recently, and he informed me of a possible Theft of money. He thought there was a strange coincidence. Once a year for at least nine years, Harry Potter's trust Vault would lose a large amount of Galleons on a certain date. It couldn't have been in Harry's possession. He knew nothing of his Vault, much less the wizarding world until his eleventh birthday. On the same date of the disappearance of these funds, the Prewett Family Vault would find a large sum of Galleons in addition to what was already there. This went on for many years. Molly, I am merely a messenger for this crime. The Goblins specifically wish to be the judge, jury and executioner of any criminal behavior when it comes to Theft from their Vaults and accounts."

"Albus Dumbledore took the money from Harry Potter's trust Vault," Molly said, "As his magical guardian, Dumbledore was allowed to do so. It was he who put a portion of the funds in my family's Vault every year. My only crime when it comes to theft from Gringotts is using a portion of that fortune over the years. Dumbledore is entirely to blame for that."

"That is for the Goblins to decide," Amelia said. "At the moment, I can only give a message of your confession. However, for the first charge..."

She brandished her wand and pointed it at Molly. Her wrists snapped together as they were bound in magic-binding cuffs. She then waved her wand toward the door and summoned her messenger Patronus, then sent it to the Ministry.

"Molly Weasley," Amelia said, "You are under arrest under suspicion of illegally brewing substances, intent to use illegal substances for heinous means, and Line Theft. Do you understand these charges?"

"Yes," Molly said, quietly.

Amelia turned to a very emotional Arthur. "Arthur, I have no reason to interrogate your daughter, Ginny. But I am afraid I must speak to your son, Ron. With your permission, of course."

"I'm not entirely sure how many words you'll get out of him," Arthur said, doing his best to keep his voice steady, "The hexes which had been applied to him sometimes renders him mute."

Amelia raised an eyebrow and smiled wryly. "I'm sure I can get what I need from him. It is suggested you are in the same room while I interrogate your son, since he is underage."

"O-of course," Arthur said, with a nod.

Two sharp cracks were heard. A minute later, Aurors Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish were standing at the front door.

"Come inside, gentlemen," Amelia instructed.

Shacklebolt and Dawlish walked inside.

"I am requesting prisoner transport for Molly Weasley, here," Amelia said, "And possibly one other individual. Auror Shacklebolt, remain with the prisoner until I return. Auror Dawlish, as you can see, there is evidence here to be collected. Collect the evidence but remain here until otherwise instructed. I will return shortly."

"Yes, ma'am," Shacklebolt said, and Dawlish echoed his partner.

"Lead the way, Arthur," Amelia said.

Arthur glanced at Molly for a long moment, before he walked out of the kitchen, followed by Amelia.

"Please describe Ron's symptoms of the hex as best you can," Amelia said as she followed Arthur up the stairs.

"The Langlock Hex renders him mute and momentarily chokes him," Arthur said. "At the same time, the Flatulence Hex takes form. I am sure you can imagine what happens because of that hex."

"Is the hex set off due to anything specific?" Amelia asked.

"Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts," Arthur said, "believes that the hex is set off whenever Ron tries to fib on his attackers."

"So it renders him mute?" Amelia asked.

"Indeed," Arthur said, "It appears that the Flatulence Hex is additional ammunition in order to – ah – ensure that individuals have to tend with pungent aromas as they attempt to further interrogate Ron. Impossible anyway. He cannot speak of his attackers. I don't know how you will able able to succeed where we cannot."

"I have a theory that might have been easily missed," Amelia said.

Arthur lead Amelia to the top of the stairs where Ron's bedroom was located.

"Is Ron able to walk if need arises?" Amelia asked, outside the doorway, "I know he suffered an injured leg."

"I believe his leg is mostly mended," Arthur said. "He is capable of walking."

Amelia nodded and motioned to the door. Arthur opened it, and led Amelia into the small bedroom. Ron was currently sitting on his bed, propped against pillows. A curious expression crossed his eyes as he looked from his father to Amelia.

"Ronald," Arthur said, "This is Madam Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She wishes to speak to you."

Ron waved a hand shyly in silent greeting.

"Ron, it is nice to meet you," Amelia said. "Your father was just informing me of the dreadful hex put on you. Do not attempt to use your voice when answering my questions. Simply nod for yes and shake your head for no. Understand?"

Ron nodded.

"Do you know who is responsible for this hex?" Amelia asked.

Ron narrowed his eyes and nodded.

"Does the hex prevent you from writing answers on a piece of paper without setting off the side-effects?" Amelia asked.

Ron shook his head.

Arthur gasped. "Of course! Written speech! How did none of us think of it? It seems so obvious! Oh, Ron, I am sorry this suggestion wasn't made earlier."

Amelia conjured a piece of parchment and a ink-filled quill then handed them to Ron.

"Write down who did this to you please and exactly how they did it," Amelia instructed.

Amelia watched as Ron quickly wrote down his statement then he handed it to her. She read through it:

_Harry Potter and Hermione Granger did this to me! Hermione attempted to steal my wand, then she placed me under an Imperius Curse! I didn't realize exactly what she did until hours later when I started choking and farting!_

Amelia raised her eyebrows as she read over the statement. She sighed audibly.

"May I speak to you outside the room, Arthur?" she asked.

"Of course," Arthur said. "We'll be right back, son."

Amelia followed out of the room and Arthur closed the door.

"How well do you know Hermione Granger, Arthur?" Amelia asked.

"Hermione?" Arthur asked. "Mostly I know what Ron and Ginny have told me. Ron was her friend, though I heard from Ginny that this is no longer true. Ginny has told me in the past that Ron is often jealous of Hermione because she is a smart witch. But from what I know of her, she is smart and very kind. Her parents are wonderful people as well. Raised a good young lady."

"Do you believe she would be capable of performing an Imperius Curse?" Amelia asked.

Arthur's eyes widened. "While she is a smart young witch, I doubt she would be capable of it. At least to do anything too threatening with it."

"I have to agree," Amelia said. "I met her recently, and she is book-smart and full of common sense. She would be full aware of repercussions if she performed the Curse. Plus, as you said, she is one of the kindest young witches I've ever met. Yes, she can be feisty and strong-willed. But you can say that for a large percentage of women in the entire world."

"Is that what Ron wrote down?" Arthur asked, "He accused Hermione of using an Imperius Curse?"

"He accused Hermione and Harry Potter of hexing him," Amelia said.

"Oh, dear," Arthur said, "That might not be true at all. Ginny spoke to me recently and informed me that Harry and Hermione were dating. She told me Ron was no longer their friend because he could not overcome his jealousy of their new relationship. Ron has shown signs of jealousy toward both Harry and Hermione in the past. Dear me. I apologize, Amelia. It seems my son wanted to retaliate toward his former friends, and this was how he did it."

"I suggest we move him to St. Mungo's," Amelia said, "Where the Healers will be able to cure him, Once he can speak freely, I wish to interrogate him. I have reason to suspect heinous behavior against Harry and Hermione. Albus Dumbledore seemed to be targeting Harry and Hermione, and for some reason has used Ron as a pawn. I need to find out if Ron has other connections with Albus in regards to Harry and Hermione."

Arthur frowned and nodded. "I will prepare Ron to move to St. Mungo's. We will leave with you and – and the Aurors when they take Molly. Amelia, I must ask again. Is Molly in danger of incarceration in Azkaban?"

"I have to be honest with you, Arthur," Amelia said, "The person I want in Azkaban is Albus Dumbledore. But Fudge has granted him a pardon of amnesty for a year. Until I can bring up charges on Albus, I am afraid Molly will suffer for it. The best outcome is that Molly spends a year in Azkaban until I can detain Albus and discover if he truly is behind the crimes she is being accused of."

"Well, that seems better already," Arthur said, with a heavy sigh. "Thank you for trying to find some good in all of this."

"You are most welcome," Amelia said. "I will see you downstairs shortly."

Arthur nodded and returned to his youngest son's bedroom. Amelia started back downstairs. It truly hurt her to have to tear apart this family because of criminal activity. She knew that Albus Dumbledore was behind it. It was obvious that Molly was a pawn. Molly had a clear weakness, a history of brewing illegal potions, and Albus knew how to exploit it. Molly Weasley would likely be serving time in Azkaban, all because of Albus Dumbledore.

Amelia also suspected that she would soon discover that Ron was another pawn of Dumbledore's. He had several weaknesses Dumbledore could exploit. In fact, Amelia wouldn't be surprised if Albus was behind Ron's bewitchment. Accusing Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, that seemed like something Dumbledore would want to do.

Amelia's resolve strengthened further. She would find out every little detail about Dumbledore's criminal behavior so that when a year passed she could take him down. She only hoped that no more families were ruined because of him.

* * *

**So... yeah. That happened. Molly Weasley is arrested. As for Ron. Well, Hermione knew what she was doing when she cast the curse on Ron. Her reputation was too good for anyone to believe she was capable of doing something so heinous. Ron's jealousy, and other factors has Amelia believing that Hermione and Harry were set up. She is basically obsessed with taking down Dumbledore, so she casts the blame on him.**

**So... perhaps you caught onto what the Potion was early on in the chapter. Did you figure out what Ginny was smelling and what it might reveal? A good hint for what might happen in the future for Ginny Weasley.**

**Ron's interrogation won't likely be for a couple of chapters or more. His stay at St. Mungo's will be extended for plot-support. I really want to get to Sirius' trial next chapter. That will happen as well as a small time-skip before it!**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	22. Articles, Letters and Badges

**Chapter 22  
Articles, Letters and Badges  
**

**Author's Note: Next chapter is Sirius' trial. This is merely a teaser leading up to it.**

**Wow, there was a lot of reviews the previous chapter concerning one thing, Amelia's interrogation of Ron. Yes, a lot of you have a good point. I was going to leave this explanation until next chapter, but I think I'd like to get it out there now.**

**To those of you who reviewed about these certain issues, you're forgetting one thing. Ron is underage, and will not be treated as an of-age criminal, because he isn't under arrest yet. Amelia will have limits to her interrogation. She won't be able to use Veritaserum, as it is illegal to use in situations like this (unless the entire Wizengamot and/or Minister agrees upon it). She will not be able to use the Honor Vow (as earlier said, Ron isn't under arrest, and he is underage).**

**I know this might seem like an easy way to get Hermione out of trouble. It could be, technically. But plot-wise, Amelia Bones wants to take Dumbledore down, and what she discovers will lead more to Dumbledore than Harry and Hermione.**

**But all of that doesn't take place for two chapters at least. Some of it will be discussed in this chapter however. I hope you enjoy THIS chapter.**

**Additional Note: From now on I will start adding dates, since the story will pick up and the dates might be confusing. The dates DO NOT match up with real life, and it will likely get worse as the story goes on.**

* * *

**Thursday, June 20th, 1994**

The morning after his visit to Sirius and Remus, Harry Potter woke up feeling like a brand new man. Perhaps it was the fact that he no longer had a piece of Voldemort's soul latched onto him. Perhaps it was because he had just spent a few hours the day before with his godfather, Sirius, whom, was alive and well, if not one-hundred percent healthy. Perhaps it was because a huge weight had been lifted off his chest; Sirius, Remus and Tonks now knew his and Hermione's secret that they were time-travelers – _and _they believed them! Or perhaps it was a combination of all three. Whatever it was, Harry felt refreshed. He was ready to get up and go about his day beginning with his recent routine of a morning jog to start the day.

He was preparing to do that very thing, when he heard a peck on the bedroom window. A delivery owl for the Daily Prophet was sitting there. Harry walked over to the window, and opened it. The owl flew in, dropped the newspaper on his bed, and flew out. Because he had a paid-for subscription, the owl didn't need any further payment. Harry was intent on ignoring the newspaper for now until he returned from his morning jog, however a familiar face on the front page of the folded newspaper caught his eye and he picked it up, curiosity taking over.

His eyes widened as he looked at the front page. Molly Weasley was seen depicted in a black-and-white photo, looking very distraught with her hands bound in chains. The article's header, below the picture, in large bold letters read: **HOUSE WEASLEY MATRIARCH CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED LINE THEFT. **Harry's eyes traveled below the title as he began to read the article.

**Molly Weasley 'nee Prewett, was arrested on Wednesday  
afternoon after officials discovered she was brewing Amortentia,  
also known as Love Potion. Amortentia is a Class C Illegal  
Substance and is worth a heavy fine if one is found to be brewing  
the Potion for personal use. But Molly Weasley is facing much  
more serious charges than a simple fine.**

**Molly, Matriarch of the Weasley House, wife of Arthur Weasley,**  
**of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department, and mother of seven,**  
**was also charged with intent to use the Potion for heinous means. The**  
**Department of Magical Law Enforcement refused to comment on whom**  
**the targeted victims were, which leads this reporter to believe said victim**  
**or victims are underage children or teenagers. Molly Weasley is also**  
**charged with multiple counts of attempted Line Theft, which leads this**  
**reporter to believe the targets are a part of important Houses in wizarding**  
**society. Who the victims were is anybody's guess.**

**Weasley is to be brought forward this afternoon in front of the courts,**  
**and could face time in Azkaban Prison.**

**This reporter promises to keep an eye on this story, and will bring updates**  
**in the near future!**

"Harry?" Hermione's voice called, just as Harry finished the article, "It is almost time to join Tonks on our morning jog. Have you forgotten?"

"Look at this," Harry said, as he handed the newspaper over to his girlfriend.

Harry watched Hermione's reaction as she looked at the article and began to read it. Shock marred her expression, followed by anger as well as a hint of sadness.

"Well," Hermione said, as she tossed the newspaper on the bed, "It doesn't take a genius like me to figure out who the 'victims' are mentioned there."

"Us," Harry said.

"Yes, but I have a feeling it isn't just us," Hermione said. "The article mentions multiple attempts at Line Theft. I'm guessing Madam Bones had something to do with the arrest. She knows you are Betrothed to three girls, one of which is her niece. Susan, Daphne, and Luna are members of Houses, as are you. That is four counts of Line Theft, because the likely outcome in the future is that all four of those Houses will result in children from you – your own House, and those of your Betrothed."

Harry's cheeks burned at the mention of children, but he knew Hermione had a good point.

"So it was likely Madam Bones who made the arrest," Harry said. "I wonder how she found out Molly was brewing Amortentia."

Hermione adopted a thoughtful look, biting her lip. "Molly Weasley is likely allied with Dumbledore, right?"

"I would say that is very likely," Harry said.

"So," Hermione said, "Dumbledore might have recruited Molly to brew Amortentia for him. Normally he could have used Snape for that kind of thing. But Snape was arrested. I am sure Madam Bones interrogated Snape and received several answers about Dumbledore. She does seem well intent on arresting Dumbledore."

"But Dumbledore is pardoned by Fudge," Harry said.

"It is an amnesty pardon," Hermione said, "A one-year limit. One year for Madam Bones to bring up charges so she can arrest him. So she starts looking at his allies. Snape first. Snape might have told her that Dumbledore might use Molly as his go-to Potions Mistress now."

"Which would lead Madam Bones to question Molly," Harry said. "So Madam Bones goes to visit the Burrow... and... catches Molly in the act of brewing Amortentia?"

Hermione laughed mirthlessly. "That would have to be some pretty bad luck for Molly Weasley. Brewing it at the same time that Madam Bones visits. But... yes, I'd say it was likely."

"Do you believe Molly could face time in Azkaban," Harry asked.

Hermione sighed and nodded. "As much as I am glad she was caught, it is her own fault. You see, brewing Amortentia in private _without _intent on using it would have only resulted in a heavy fine. But because of the additional charges, she will face time in Azkaban. At least a year, maybe five, and maybe more than that."

"Even though I know now she and Ron have had a history of manipulating me," Harry said, "I do feel bad. She was like a second mother. She was one of the first people to ever give me a Christmas present, for no other reason than being kind."

"I know," Hermione said, "At least we don't have to worry about Love Potions anymore. Come on. It is time for our morning jog."

Harry nodded. Casting one last glance at Molly's distraught face, he followed Hermione out of the bedroom.

* * *

As Harry and Hermione were preparing for their morning jog in Crawley, England, many miles away in Scotland at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore was sitting at his desk in his office. He had just finished reading the article about Molly Weasley's arrest.

He smacked the newspaper down on his desk, and rummaged through the rest of his morning mail, looking for a particular piece. But his search was to no avail. There was no letter from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, nor the Wizengamot. As Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Albus Dumbledore would sometimes lead criminal trials for the Wizengamot. He would be leading Sirius Black's trial on Saturday, in which Sirius would face the entire Wizengamot.

But it appeared that he was not requested to take part in Molly Weasley's trial, which meant she would be facing the minimal amount of Wizengamot members. Usually this meant the Lower Circle of the Wizengamot, those who took part in minor criminal trials. Albus sighed disdainfully for Molly Weasley's fate. She would surely face time in Azkaban. One year was possible – five years was more than likely.

Albus then growled in anger. Reading the article in the newspaper was the first time he heard about Molly Weasley's arrest. Nobody had cared to tell him about it beforehand. Though, he had to admit, there were very few who may have informed him. Molly was the only Weasley he was in contact without outside of Hogwarts matters. Arthur Weasley _might _have considered telling him, but Albus knew Arthur had other matters to contend with. Albus had contacts in the Ministry, but nobody high up enough who would have contacted him soon after Molly's arrest for him to do anything about it in time. Several of the portraits of Headmasters and Headmistresses in his office had copies all around Great Britain, and even in other areas of the world. But that network couldn't be everywhere at once.

There was nothing Albus could do. Molly would have to suffer, even though she had been brewing Amortentia under his orders. He didn't expect her to get caught so soon, not before she could deliver results! He knew that damnable Amelia Bones had something to do with it! Obviously Severus Snape had informed her that Molly was Albus' go-to Potions Mistress if Severus was unavailable. It was obvious to Albus: Amelia Bones couldn't arrest Albus, so she was going after his allies. It was a smart plan, Albus had to give her that. Albus would have to be more careful in his dealings over the next year. Avoiding Amelia was only one important step.

Of course that wouldn't be very easy. Amelia would be up front and center in Sirius Black's trial on Saturday. Avoiding her would be impossible. Also there was nothing he could do about Sirius Black's fate at the trial, not if he didn't want to have any more suspicion headed his way. He would just have to let things play out. There would be a few road-blocks, but he always knew it would never be a smooth road on his path to the Greater Good.

But he would get there in the end. He was sure of that.

* * *

**Saturday, June 22****nd****, 1994  
**_  
_Amelia Bones sighed as she finished reading a memo from St. Mungo's. It concerned Ronald Weasley The note was written by a friend of hers, a Healer at the hospital who had been responsible for looking after Ron. She had confided in the Healer that anything they find be given directly to her. She was relieved that she had been smart enough to do so. Because the results of Ron's visit was something expected and unexpected at the same time.

Ron was completely healed of the hex and broken leg, but that was only the bottom of the beanpole. Ron Weasley had also been flushed of several concoctions in his system. These concoctions included Loyalty and Honor Potions keyed to Albus Dumbledore. Upon reading this, Amelia once thanked her ingenuity to have her friend responsible for Ron at the hospital. Anyone else would have taken this information to someone else, and Fudge would have gotten wind of it. He would not like seeing Albus Dumbledore's name connected to this criminal behavior. Other potions in Ron's system affected Ron's attitude, including one that made him act unnaturally jealous toward specified targets – Harry Potter and Hermione Granger was the easiest guess. The Healer reported no signs of a recent Imperius Curse applied to Ron, but admitted that the process of flushing the concoctions out Ron's system could have interfered with that.

Ronald was to be released later that afternoon. Amelia wrote both a reply to the Healer, and a letter to Arthur Weasley informing them that she wanted to speak to Ron at the hospital before his release. Due to the fact that her morning would be busy, she didn't know when she would be able to meet with Ron, but hoped she would be available that afternoon.

Questioning Ron would be tricky, Amelia knew. Ron Weasley was underage, and he wasn't under arrest for anything yet. So interrogations at the DMLE Headquarters was improper. Veritaserum would not be allowed in this case. It was only usually allowed in rare cases when it came to legal procedures, such as criminal trials and only if the Minister of Magic or the Wizengamot allowed it. Suffice it to say, it wouldn't be allowed to interrogate Ron. Due to the fact that Ron was underage, an Honor Vow would be useless. Young children and teens were not mature enough to be explicitly honest enough to pass an Honor Vow. One could accidentally lie, and their magic would be wiped from their bodies. The Ministry of Magic didn't allow Honor Vows on underage wizards and witches for that reason alone.

Amelia knew she would likely not be arresting Ron Weasley for anything. She didn't have any concrete evidence. Expulsion from Hogwarts was possible, though Albus Dumbledore, as Headmaster, made that decision, and if Amelia was right, Albus wouldn't expel Ron. Amelia was only interrogating Ron for one reason: information on Albus Dumbledore. She wanted to know if Ron had done anything for Albus Dumbledore. Given that Ron had been friends with Harry and Hermione, it would likely be connected to them. Amelia was sure she would find answers she wanted. The Honor and Loyalty Potions found in Ron's system keyed to Albus Dumbledore was evidence already.

Thinking about Ron Weasley led Amelia to think about his mother, Molly. Molly's trial had taken place on Thursday. Of her family, only her husband had been present at the trial. Molly had been sentenced to five years in Azkaban. She would be placed in the minimum security facility, Level A. Dementors were rarely stationed there so she would be less affected by them than the criminals with far worse crimes were. Amelia hoped Molly's sentence would be lessened after Albus' arrest. But for now, Molly was a resident at Azkaban Prison.

Amelia tapped the finished letters to the Healer and Arthur Weasley, and they turned into paper airplanes and flew out of her office, in the direction of her department's Owlery. As the two letters left, a new memo entered her office and she grabbed it as it hovered over her desk. She began to read it:

_Madam Bones,_

_Do you know what time is it? It is nearly eight-o-clock in the morning. Nearly three hours until Sirius Black's trial. Black has not been seen at the Ministry at all! I gave him an offer, via the Daily Prophet, to turn himself in voluntarily for his own safety and assurance that he would be at the trial!_

_If he does not show up at the trial, I will send Dementors, Aurors and Hit-Wizards out again to track him down and kill him on sight. Because not showing up is a sign that he is guilty of the crimes he is imprisoned with!_

_You promised me he would show up. He had better be there, or it will be on your head!_

_I will see you at the trial,_

_Cornelius Fudge_  
_British Minister of Magic_

Amelia rolled her eyes as she binned the letter. Fudge truly believed that Sirius would turn himself in early. He simply didn't understand Sirius, nor did he understand the positive side of Sirius not turning himself in early. Temporary freedom, and the hope of being declared innocent, was good for Sirius. It would help him heal enough for him to be presentable at his trial. Even one day in Ministry custody would surely remind him of his time in Azkaban, which might hinder everything he had been working toward in order to heal.

"Samantha!" Amelia called out to her secretary.

Samantha stepped into the office a moment later.

"Yes, Madam?" she asked.

"I need you to personally go to Rufus Scrimgeour's office and give him this message," Amelia said, as she wrote a note down on a memo, "Sirius Black is not_ – _I repeat – _not _to be apprehended on sight by Aurors when he arrives in the Ministry Atrium. If Black arrives, an Auror should only make sure that he is headed for the Courtroom for his trial, then allow him to go under his own power. If Black wants to be escorted by the Auror, that is his choice. If Rufus has any issues with this, he can come to me with it post haste. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Madam," Samantha said.

Amelia handed the letter to Samantha then motioned for her to leave. A thought crossed Amelia's mind and she started penning another letter, this time to Nymphadora Tonks regarding Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, two witnesses for Sirius' defense at the trial. She finished the letter, then sent it off toward the Owlery.

Amelia then picked up a specific crème-colored folder. relaxed in her chair, and held it tight to her chest. The folder in question was Sirius' ticket to freedom. She wouldn't part with it even in death. Today, she would assure that Sirius Black would be a free man.

Then perhaps, in the near future, she could work toward having the life with him she had dreamed for since her teenage years.

* * *

Sometime later at the Granger residence in Crawley, Harry Potter was dressing himself. On Friday, Harry, Hermione and Tonks had visited Diagon Alley again where Harry and Hermione each purchased new formal robes for Sirius' trial. They wanted to look proper and formal robes were the best idea. After their shopping trip, they also visited Sirius and Remus again for a short while.

As Harry tied his trainers, he nearly jumped out of them when his Potter House Ring began to sparkle on his finger. Then the left side of his formal robes glittered lightly as a badge of some sort appeared. He walked over to a mirror situated on the wall near the closet and looked at the badge in the reflection closer. He recognized the same insignia from the Potter Signet ring. Below the badge on a black strip of leather, there was also a golden star. He wasn't sure what referred to. As he studied the badge, he heard a loud surprised squeaking sound coming from Hermione in her room. He hurried out of his bedroom.

"Hermione?" he asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!" Hermione's muffled voice said.

"Are you proper?" Harry asked, "Can I come in?"

Hermione opened the door and Harry smiled at her appearance. She looked beautiful in her feminine style of formal robes.

"I heard a loud noise," Harry said.

"That was me," Hermione said, "I was surprised. Well... look!"

She pointed to the breast-pocket on her robes right over her heart. Harry could see the same badge she was wearing. The only difference was the red star situated below her badge.

"Oh, you have one too!" Hermione said; then gasped, "I should have realized! Harry, it is your House crest!"

"Yeah, I kind of realized that myself, thanks," Harry said. "Why do you have one?"

"I am a Vassal of House Potter, Harry, remember?" Hermione said, "I think that is what this red star means, it represents the level of membership. The Gold star on yours likely refers to you being the Head."

"The badge appeared right after my ring lit up," Harry said, pointing to his Signet ring.

"The Signet Ring is half-sentient, isn't it?" Hermione asked, then clarified. "It is like it thinks for itself at times?"

"Well, if Remus is right, then it can speak to my properties," Harry said. "And apparently it can speak to me, through a voice in my head. So... I suppose so."

"So perhaps it knows that you are going to be present at an important wizarding function," Hermione said, "Your House should be represented."

"I suppose so," Harry said, again. "Was there anything about it in that book about Houses, Lords and Ladies?"

"Well, I don't know," Hermione said, "I haven't finished it yet." She blushed when Harry raised an eyebrow. "I just haven't had time! I've been preoccupied with other things!"

"I forgive you," Harry said, laughing lightly, "Are you finished yet?"

Hermione shook her head. "Have to put on some finishing touches. Give me ten minutes."

"I'll be downstairs with Tonks," Harry said.

Hermione nodded and retreated back into her room. Harry returned to his room, pocketed his wand and made his way downstairs. Tonks was in the Granger's sitting room, relaxing on the sofa and reading through a letter. She smiled when she saw him.

"Wotcher, Harry," she said, "Where's your better half?"

"Needs another ten minutes to finish up," Harry said, "What's that?"

"Letter from Madam Bones," Tonks said, "I'm to be your official escort at the Ministry today. I'll be responsible for getting you to the courtroom and showing you where you'll be sitting as official Witnesses for the Defense. I'm also responsible making sure that the vultures in the media won't hover. Speaking of vultures, I distinctly remember a discussion involving you, me and your girls regarding the entrapment of Rita Skeeter."

Harry blushed at the mention of 'his girls'. "I almost forgot about that. Yeah, we'll have to think of something."

"About what?" Hermione said, as she entered the room.

"That wasn't ten minutes," Harry said, grinning. "Rita Skeeter. She'll likely be at the trial."

"Right," Hermione said, "We were going to entrap her. Hmm... well, Harry, we're meeting with Luna and her father to discuss a time and date for the Betrothal meeting. If we time it right, the discussion could happen around the vicinity of Rita Skeeter. Your Betrothals aren't public news yet. Rita will want to latch onto it. Likely, she'll want your statement about it."

"I see where you're going with this," Tonks said, "Harry, you could promise her a sit-down meeting. And during the meeting, you snap the trap."

"I like it," Harry said. "What time is it?"

"Nearly nine-o-clock," Tonks said, "Trial's at eleven. Don't have to be at the Ministry for at least an hour. Unless your parents have different plans, Hermione, we could go for breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, my treat."

"Good idea," Hermione said. "We could see Sirius before the trial. Unless he's already left for the Ministry."

"Knowing my cousin?" Tonks said, "He'll like to make a fashionably late entrance."

Hermione laughed. After making sure it was okay with Hermione's parents, Harry, Hermione and Tonks left the house via Side-Along Apparation.

A little after ten-o-clock, after an excellent breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, the trio arrived at the Ministry through the Floo Network. They made their way over to the Welcome desk.

"Reason for being here today?" the welcome-wizard, Eric, said, when they arrived.

"I'm Auror-in-Training Nymphadora Tonks," Tonks said, accompanying these two to Sirius Black's trial. They're key defense witnesses."

"Wand-check please," Eric said.

The welcome wizard ran the wands through the usual process, then handed them back to their owners.

"Wands pass," Eric said, "Trial is in Courtroom Ten on the tenth floor. Not accessible through the lifts, but you can get there from level nine."

"That's what the Ministry wants us to believe, isn't it?" Tonks asked; she then removed a piece of paper from the pocket of her robes and gave it to Eric, "I have written permission from Madam Amelia Bones to use the private lifts."

Eric took the letter and looked it over, then he nodded and pointed to a door behind him.

"Go through that door and follow the hallway to its end," Eric said, "Don't let everyone know about it. It is usually for VIPs."

"We'll keep it mum," Tonks said, "Thanks. Follow me, kids."

Tonks led Harry and Hermione toward the lone door nearby and through the doorway. This led into a nondescript, and fairly boring, hallway."

"I've never read anything about VIP lifts," Hermione said, "Though it seems obvious now. Can you see the Minister of Magic using the public lifts?"

"Nope," Harry said, laughing at the thought, "How did you know about it, Tonks?"

"Alastor Moody, my mentor at the Corps for a year before he retired, told me about it," Tonks said. "We always took the public lifts, and one day I told him I was sick of them already. He says 'well, that gives you a reason to climb the ranks. High-ranking Ministry workers get to use private VIP lifts.' Moody used them all the time, but because he was my mentor, and I was with him when we visited the Ministry together, he always used the public lifts. Ah, here we are!"

Soon, they were in one of the private lifts as it made its way to the tenth floor, usually inaccessible by lift.

"I've been in Courtroom Ten before," Harry said, "During fifth year last timeline. Fudge was on the offensive attacking me and Dumbledore, trying to discredit us because he didn't believe Voldemort was back. So he turned my Misuse of Magic Hearing into a full-blown circus in front of the entire Wizengamot."

"The Courtrooms on this level are only for big criminal trials," Tonks said, "Not surprising Sirius will be in front of the entire Wizengamot. This will be a tough one, kids, I'm not going to lie to you. There will be several wizards and witches in those seats from Dark Alliances. People who would like to see Sirius Black back in Azkaban."

"So expect a close vote either way, in other words," Hermione said.

"Very likely," Tonks said, with a frown. "Just means the two of you have to be convincing with your testimonies. Don't hesitate. You believe in your testimonies, show it. And be respectful too, remember that. You're about to face snooty purebloods, but use formal titles, ma'am, sir, the works, just so they have no reason to doubt you. There will be some who look down on you, Hermione, because you're a Muggleborn. Don't let them get to you."

"I won't," Hermione said, resolutely.

"Level Ten," a cool voice said overhead, "Ministry Holding Cells and Courtrooms."

The lift's doors opened and Tonks lead the pair out and down another hallway. Harry soon realized they were coming from the opposite direction he had come with Mr. Weasley in the previous timeline. As they neared their destination, they found a large crowd nearby, some of whom were obvious reporters.

"Get back, get back!" a Ministry wizard standing at the door to the courtroom ,said, "Courtroom isn't open to the public and media until half-past. Get in a queue and wait patiently! Wizengamot officials and other court-appropriate individuals only!"

"I'm escorting two Witnesses for the defense," Tonks said as she, Harry and Hermione neared the Ministry wizard.

Tonks handed the wizard a piece of parchment. He looked it over and nodded briefly.

"You're allowed to go in," he said. "Sit in the designated area."

"Right-o," Tonks said, "Come on, kids."

The Ministry wizard allowed them through and they headed inside the Courtroom. The first thing Harry noticed was that they were the only ones in the room. Last time when Harry was in this room, there were a few elevated stadium-like seats for the public. Those were still there, but there were also several additional chairs for the public. Tonks led them over to the front row of chairs, which looked a bit more comfortable than those behind them.

"This is where you will be sitting," Tonks said, as Harry and Hermione sat down next to each other, "As your bodyguard, I'll sit just behind you, as instructed by Amelia Bones. Don't want anyone bothering you."

"Thanks," Harry said; he looked at Hermione, "You alright?"

"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you that question?" Hermione said, smiling, "It is your godfather's fate on the line. I'm fine by the way."

"I'm alright," Harry said, "Nothing's going to get me down. None of this happened last time because forces working against us and Sirius prevented it. If, when, Sirius becomes a free man, that means we're already partially victorious in changing the future for the better. A free Sirius means so much good will happen."

"Yeah," Hermione said.

She smiled and took his hand in her own and squeezed it. He squeezed back fondly and they waited, their thoughts on Sirius.

* * *

At twenty-minutes to eleven-o-clock, Sirius Black stepped out of the Floo and into the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic. He looked around at the large tunnel-like room and found it looked as he remembered it many years ago. That was a very boring feeling. He could remember the last time he was here. Aurors were bringing him through the Atrium, magic-resistant cuffs binding his wrists. It had been just hours after James and Lily's deaths, and Pettigrew's escape. Sirius grimaced as the memory washed through him.

"Sirius?" Remus' voice called breaking through Sirius' reverie, "You all right?"

Sirius shook himself out of his memories, and he found Remus. He was waiting nearby, alongside a tall dark-skinned man. As Sirius neared them, he recognized the other man.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt?" he asked, "Is that you? You're taller than I remember. I mean, you were always a tall bloke, taller than me, which was discouraging since I was a year ahead of you at Hogwarts. But you're even taller!"

Kingsley laughed. "It is nice to see you have some of your humor back, Sirius."

"You're an Auror, huh?" Sirius asked, recognizing the garb, "Are you here to escort me to the courtroom."

"I'm here to confirm that is your destination," Kingsley said.

"It is," Sirius said, with a nod.

"Then I am to allow you to travel there on your own," Kingsley said, "And accompany you only if you wish."

"I'm sure Remus would make sure I'm getting where I am going," Sirius said, "But I could always use a man of your stature to keep the vultures away. You're welcome to join us."

"I accept the invitation," Kingsley said, "Good choice. With an accompanied Auror, you can bypass security, and we can take our own lift."

"Sounds wonderful," Sirius said, "Lead the way."

Sirius walked with Remus as they followed Kingsley across the Atrium. Thanks to the tall Auror's stature and movement parting the crowd, like the biblical Moses parting the sea, they were able to easily make their way toward the lifts. However, there were a few people staring at Sirius. His appearance was different than his latest pictures in the media, but he sure a few of them recognized him.

"I'm starting to appreciate Kingsley as escort," Sirius muttered, "I would get hounded by this crowd. Perhaps even killed before I got to the courtroom."

"Sirius," Remus reprimanded with a sigh.

"Oh, it isn't a possibility?" Sirius asked.

Remus merely grimaced. Soon enough, Kingsley led them into an empty lift, using his Auror status to warn people away. It didn't matter much. It didn't seem that anyone wanted to get in close proximity with an apparent criminal.

The lift began its way downward toward its destination. Once again memories were sweeping through his head. He recalled standing in one of these lifts, surrounded by three Aurors, including Alastor Moody. They would be leading him to the Ministry Holding Cells. He had been under the impression that he was there to wait for his impending trial. The trial never came. After five hours in the cell, Sirius was handed a glass, believing he was about to get a drink of refreshing water. The glass was a Portkey, sending him to Azkaban. He would not leave the prison for nearly twelve years.

"Sirius?" Remus asked, "You alright?"

"Ye-yeah," Sirius said.

Remus glanced down and Sirius followed his gaze. He realized he was holding his hands in front of him, in the same manner he had done last time, as if his wrists were bound. He jumped and parted his hands.

"Yeah," Sirius repeated, "I'm okay."

Remus raised an eyebrow. Sirius inhaled and exhaled and turned away from his friend. He looked at the mirror-like golden walls of the lift, and could see his reflection. His health had improved much since he started living with Remus. Good food, warm baths, long periods of dreamless sleep, and hours in his Animagus form had helped. He knew his health would improve greatly in the future until he looked normal again.

If he became a free man today.

He refused to think what would happen otherwise.

Sirius cleared his throat. "I'm okay."

He hoped that was true.

* * *

**Chapter finished. A nice tease before the trial.**

**Next Chapter: Sirius Black Vs. The Wizengamot!**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	23. Sirius Black Vs The Wizengamot, Part 1

**Chapter 23  
Sirius Black Vs. The Wizengamot, Part 1**

**Author's Note: Yep, this is only Part 1 of the trial. Sorry!**

* * *

**Saturday, June 22nd, 1994  
**_  
_At a quarter-to-eleven – fifteen minutes before the trial was to begin – Courtroom Ten was buzzing with conversation from several attendees. From his front row seat, Harry Potter looked around at the crowd to see if could see anyone he recognized. He soon came to one disheartening conclusion. Most of the people gathered today did not appear to be anyone Sirius Black might truly know or approve of, and in turn, Harry wasn't sure most of these people were interested in Sirius' fate whatever happened. They were just here for the spectacle, having heard about it in the Daily Prophet. Most were likely just gossip-mongers, looking for their next topic of discussion at future social gatherings.

Thanks to Tonks pointing them out, Harry did recognize at least two people who would support Sirius through it all: Ted and Andromeda Tonks. Andromeda was Sirius' cousin, his favorite. A slight shiver resonated around his body as he looked upon Andromeda. Aside from some distinctions, she still reminded him of her sister, Bellatrix Lestrange. Sadly, Ted and Andromeda were the only two Harry recognized as Sirius' supporters.

Across the room, seated in a group like vultures gathered in waiting for their next juicy meal, were the various media representatives. Harry immediately recognized the bottle-blonde haired Rita Skeeter. A Quick-Quotes Quill was hovering near her. As he glanced at her, she caught his eye and a large smile crossed her lips, and she gave a dainty little wave toward him. Harry rolled his eyes and looked away.

Still, more people were coming into the courtroom every minute or so. Two of those people, Harry recognized. One of his Betrothed, Luna Lovegood was skipping along with her father, Xenophilius. She was wearing a white, flowered dress that looked far different than anything anyone else was wearing. Apparently formal robes weren't in her favor. She caught his eye, waved energetically and whispered something to her father who bent low to listen. His eyes widened as he glanced at Harry and he nodded. Luna smiled then started skipping toward Harry and Hermione's direction.

"Good morning!" Luna said, cheerily.

"Good morning, Luna," Harry said, "Are you going to be sitting with your father, or would you like to sit with us? I'm sure Tonks would allow it."

Luna looked at Tonks, who smiled warmly and patted an empty seat.

"Thank you," Luna said, as she sat down with Tonks, "I think I'd like that. Daddy will likely be 'in the zone' as he likes to say, during the trial. He does his best writing during those times. So I would probably not get a word out of him."

"Probably not," Harry said, "I'm sorry I didn't reply to your letter, Luna. I should have but I have been quite busy. We loved your articles though. They were excellent."

"Definitely!" Hermione said.

"Thank you," Luna said, smiling. "We've been getting a lot of responses ever since those articles. Both supportive and not-so-much. Thankfully Daddy installed wards long ago that prevented dangerous mail such as hex-letters and Howlers."

"Oh dear," Hermione said, frowning, "I hope nothing too bad will come from the Tom Riddle article."

"Oh, Daddy is sure it won't come to that," Luna said, "He's used to drama due to the Quibbler."

"Yes, but your article has given clear concrete evidence that -" Hermione lowered her voice, "- _Voldemort – _is a half-blood. There are several purebloods out there who wouldn't like such a revelation."

Harry sighed. "I never wanted to bring you that kind of trouble, Luna."

Luna only smiled. "Thank you, but you don't need to worry. As chief-editor, Daddy would never have published the article if he wasn't ready for the response to it."

"Even though it was written by his daughter?" Hermione asked.

"Written by his _employee,_" Luna corrected. "I may be his daughter, but the Quibbler is serious business. He understands that. If he published everything I ever wrote to put in the Quibbler – there would have been a story from me as a little tot about my success at potty training!"

Tonks snickered. Hermione's face was red from trying not to laugh. Harry was wondering if he should respond, when an event happened that deemed it unnecessary. A door on the right side of the room opened and several people started to enter the room. It didn't take Harry long to realize these were the many faces of the British Wizengamot. Harry recognized a few amongst the crowd.

There was Neville's grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, looking formidable as ever in her formal outfit that was thankfully vacant of a stuffed-vulture topped hat. Harry also recognized Florean Fortescue, who owned the ice-cream parlor, Mr. Flourish, of Flourish and Blott's, and Amos Diggory, Cedric's father. Harry was quite surprised when he spotted Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody limping toward a chair – he did not know the man was a part of the Wizengamot.

As more started to pour in and take their seats, soon Harry recognized others – some of whom he wasn't as thrilled to see. Bartemius Crouch, Senior, part of the group originally responsible for sending Sirius to Azkaban in the first place. Harry studied the man to see if he had any signs of the Imperius Curse yet, but the man looked professional and serious. Harry narrowed his eyes when he noticed the beach-blonde hair of Lucius Malfoy, walking along a row and carrying his serpent-headed cane. Harry wondered just how many Death Eaters were in the crowd, how many future targets of his assassination plans.

Hermione gasped beside him. "Harry, it's _Umbridge!"_

Harry immediately searched and sure enough found Dolores Umbridge near the doorway where the Wizengamot were emerging from. She was obviously waiting for someone, and it didn't take long for Harry to figure out who. Umbridge was looking toady as ever, her poisoned-honey smile twisting her lips. He knew he shouldn't be surprised that she was in attendance.

"We're going to have problems with her," Hermione whispered, "I just know it."

Harry merely nodded. The last of the Wizengamot walked into the room, and it was this last small group which Harry recognized every single member. There was Rufus Scrimgeour, current Head of the Auror Department, leading the pack. Madam Amelia Bones followed him, carrying a crème-colored folder close to her chest, protectively. Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge entered, and Umbridge immediately bustled over to him, as if he was a fly for her next toady meal. And finally – Harry wasn't at all surprised to see him – Albus Dumbledore.

As if he knew right where they were, Dumbledore's eyes had caught Harry and Hermione immediately. A grandfatherly smile crossed his lips – one Harry could see right through – and he proceeded to follow the Minister into the stands, where he sat front row and center.

"Dumbledore's leading the trial today," Hermione whispered. "I should have known. He's the Chief Warlock, after all."

"Yeah," Harry said, "Hey, what time is it?"

"Five minutes till," Tonks said.

"Where is Sirius?" Hermione asked, looking worried.

"Dunno," Harry said, "Maybe wants to get here at the last minute? Make an entrance?"

Harry then heard a noise behind him as the main doors of the courtroom opened. A loud buzzing was heard as if a dozen beehives full of bees had just been set in the room. Sirius stepped into the room and looked around until he caught sight of Harry. He winked, and Harry smiled. Behind Sirius, Remus stepped into the room, patted Sirius on the shoulder, said a few words, then headed for the chairs.

Up in the Wizengamot chairs, Cornelius Fudge stood up straight.

"Well, Black," Cornelius said, so he was heard around the room, "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up. Thought I might have had to send the Dementors and our best Hit-Wizards and Aurors out to find you."

"As much as I would have appreciated that greeting party," Sirius said, "I decided it was in my best interest that I had better show up."

"Why isn't this man restrained?" Dolores Umbridge demanded, "He is a criminal! Aurors!"

"Madam Umbridge, I allowed Sirius – Mr. Black – to come here of his own doing," Amelia said. "And that is exactly what he did. But just to assure the safety of everyone. Mr. Black? Are you going to give us any reason to restrain you?"

"No, Madam Bones," Sirius said. "Though I would appreciate a chair, if you have one."

A very uncomfortable wooden chair appeared directly in the center of the floor between the rows of chairs, and the Wizengamot. Sirius smiled and walked down the aisle in between the chairs, as buzzing of chatter began once again. Several pops were heard as cameras went off, taking pictures of Sirius.

Sirius smiled at Harry as he passed near by, then he walked over to the chair and sat down.

"Silence in the Court!" Fudge said, as he returned to his chair. "Chief Warlock, the floor is yours. You may begin."

"Criminal Trial for the twenty-second of June in the year nineteen-ninety-four," Dumbledore began, "Sirius Orion Black versus Great Britain. Offenses include: breaking out of Azkaban prison and eluding capture, on top of existing charges already laid upon the criminal, Sirius Orion Black. What is your plea, Mr. Black?"

"Not guilty, on all accounts," Sirius said.

"Scribe, take note of the 'not guilty' plea," Dumbledore said, his eyes still on Sirius, "Do you have a solicitor?"

"Madam Amelia Susan Bones," Amelia said, as she stood up, "volunteers herself as Sirius Black's representative."

A loud buzzing was heard around the public, media and Wizengamot. Dumbledore had the decency to look surprised at Amelia's statement, though he also seemed rather perturbed at the idea.

"Madam Bones," Fudge said, "The Court was not made aware prior to this trial of your decision. But I don't see why it should not be allowed. You are aware you forfeit your vote?"

"I am aware," Amelia said.

"Very well," Fudge said, "Scribe, take into account of Madam Bones' decision, as well as the fact that I am putting my name in the voting ballot in her stead. Amelia, I must ask you to move to the floor near your client."

Amelia nodded and proceeded to make her way to the floor. She conjured a chair and desk near Sirius and placed the crème-colored folder on it.

"You may continue, Chief Warlock," Fudge said.

"Madam Amelia Bones has been named as Sirius Black's Solicitor," Dumbledore said. "Representatives for the Wizengamot – Interrogators: Chief Warlock, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Rufus Sebastian Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Department, Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister -"

As Dumbledore named the Court Scribe and various other members of the Wizengamot, Harry grimaced at the thought that Umbridge would be an Interrogator. He knew she would likely have something to say about his and Hermione's testimonies. Luckily, Madam Bones was on the side of the Defense, and she was a formidable woman.

"Does the Defense have any witnesses?" Dumbledore continued.

"We do, Chief Warlock," Amelia said, glancing at Harry and Hermione, "And I believe they are capable of introducing themselves."

Harry and Hermione immediately took this as instruction to stand.

"Lord Harry James Potter," Harry said, "Head of the Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Potter and Peverell."

More buzzing was heard, and Harry heard pops of camera flashes. He noted several curious glances, and a few glares from noted people in the Wizengamot, including Lucius Malfoy and Dolores Umbridge.

"Hermione Jean Granger," Hermione said, "Vassal of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter."

There were more buzzing and a definite noise of disbelief from Umbridge at this announcement.

"Scribe take note of the two witnesses and that they are underage," Dumbledore said.

"I see no reason why the fact that they are underage should be a factor in this, Chief Warlock," Amelia Bones said.

"Simply that, as you know, Madam Bones, they cannot be allowed to take an Honor Vow," Dumbledore said, "Honor Vows on minors have been outlawed, even in the courts of law, for over a century."

"If I may speak, Chief Warlock?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore peered at Harry through his glasses. "You may, Mist – excuse me, _Lord _Potter."

"I am willing to submit memories for a Pensieve," Harry said. "I know it is normally not allowed in the court of law, but I would also be willing to accept a Legilimency scan from an impartial Legilimens, as long as they Vow to search only that the memories I would wish to enter are not fabricated."

"I would be willing to do the same, Chief Warlock," Hermione said.

"It is your decision, Minister," Dumbledore said.

"If I find it necessary, I am willing to take such steps," Fudge said.

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, each surprised that Fudge was willing to accept such a thing.

A mere wisp of a frown crossed Dumbledore's face. "The Witnesses may be seated."

Harry and Hermione took their seats.

"I request a five minute recess," Madam Bones said, "So that I may consult with my client and figure out where our defense will begin."

Dumbledore turned to Fudge, who nodded.

"Accepted," Dumbledore said, "Recess is granted for five minutes then we will move to the opening statement."

* * *

Amelia walked over to Sirius, who gave his roguish smile at the sight of her. Amelia nearly melted at the sight of it. At least Azkaban couldn't take _that _away.

"The years have been good on you, Amy," Sirius said, in a low voice only she could hear, "You look just as beautiful as the last day I laid eyes upon you."

"It is nice to see you too, Sirius," Amelia said, "Please don't make me regret doing any of this."

"I would not attempt to harm such a generous offer from a beautiful lady," Sirius said.

"Alright, Sirius," Amelia said, "Let's try to figure out how to start this off right. Why did you plea not-guilty to escaping from prison. There is incontrovertible evidence you did just that."

"Amelia, I am innocent of the crimes which put me there," Sirius said, "Which means I was simply a long-term resident, much longer than any Auror stationed there. If I wasn't a prisoner, then I did not break out as a prisoner."

"The Ministry of Magic sees differently at the moment," Amelia said, "But I can work with that. I think the best strategy is to bring up the crimes you are accused of first. I have incontrovertible evidence that you are innocent of the pre-existing conspiracy charge, which will force the Wizengamot to allow you to give your side of the story of what happened on Halloween and the early hours of the following morning in 1981. I have a feeling things will play out, and once the Wizengamot begins to question you, your witnesses will be able to help answer such questions."

"An excellent strategy," Sirius said, "I will play along. I am quite aware of the evidence you have. Evidence that should have been brought forward the night James and Lily died."

"I agree, and I promise to bring that up," Amelia said.

"I look forward to it," Sirius said.

"I believe we can cut this recess short," Amelia said, out loud as she backed away from Sirius.

Dumbledore smacked a gavel on the surface in front of him.

"Court returns to session," he said, "Does the defense have an opening statement?"

"We do, Chief Warlock," Amelia said. "To begin, we start at the beginning of this trial, when the charges were brought up against my client. Various charges were given – and I quote – 'on top of existing charges'. I believe it is the existing charges we should look upon first. One of the early charges my client was accused of was conspiracy to commit murder. In other words, Mr. Black was believed to have taken part in leading the individual – whom we will name 'You-Know-Who' from now on – to commit the murders of James and Lily Potter, as well as assaulting their son, Harry James Potter. I have incontrovertible evidence that makes it impossible for my client, Sirius Black, to have taken part in this initial charge."

A frown crossed Dumbledore's lips. Amelia caught the man glance at her, then over toward the area where Harry Potter was sitting. When he didn't speak up, Amelia continued.

"I believe I should bring the evidence forward now," she said, "as it serves as a transition point into Mr. Black's main point of defense."

Dumbledore remained silent. Fudge looked at him, then turned back to Amelia.

"I will allow it," Fudge said.

Amelia smiled and picked up the folder, then she opened it. She removed a piece of parchment and raised it so everyone could see.

"In my hand," she said, "I have a copy of the Final Will and Testament of James and Lily Potter -"

Gasps and buzzing were heard around the public, media and Wizengamot.

" – recently made public for Harry James Potter at Gringotts, London Branch," Amelia continued, "released into public by Keeper Ragnok the Sixth, guardian of the Vaults and accounts of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter."

Amelia swore she heard a small noise from Dolores Umbridge. She knew the woman hated Goblins.

"In the section labeled Guardians, as requested by James and Lily Potter," Amelia continued, "for their son, in the event that they were unavailable or deceased. It reads, and I quote 'Sirius Black – Godfather by right of 'The Godfather Ritual'. Family friend and ally.'"

More gasps and buzzing were heard around the room.

"I am sure most of you know what the term 'Godfather Ritual' means," Amelia said, "But I will clarify. A Godparent Ritual is made between parents and Godparent to ensure that the Godparent does not have any ill will toward the parents and child in question. If the Godparent desires any ill will, the ritual will demand satisfaction – their very life. Therefore, betrayal is impossible. Sirius Black would have been a corpse the moment he betrayed James and Lily Potter and/or their son, Harry."

"_Hem-hem_!" Dolores Umbridge piped up.

"The floor recognizes Dolores Jane Umbridge," Dumbledore said.

"Thank you, Chief Warlock Dumbledore," Umbridge said, in her poison-sweet voice, before turning to Amelia, "Madam Bones, I must question the proof of that paper in your hand. Never before today has there been any hints that the dearly-departed Potters ever made a Final Will and Testament. How do we know this isn't something the Goblins of Gringotts or... someone else... did not fabricate?"

"As I am sure you know," Amelia said, "All Final Will and Testaments require a human witness to the penning of the Will. The Witness just so happens to be in this room, and I believe you and most everyone in here can say they are a trustworthy voice."

"May I ask who that Witness was?" Umbridge asked.

"Chief Warlock Albus Dumbledore," Amelia said.

Umbridge blinked once and turned to Dumbledore.

"I was indeed witness to the penning of the Will in question," Dumbledore said. "While I assume dear, sweet James and Lily updated their Will without my knowing, I do know that Sirius Black's name was on the Will from the beginning."

"Am I to understand," Amelia said, "That you were aware that my client took part in the Godfather Ritual, and did not bring it forward in the initial trial and sentencing?"

Amelia knew what she had just done. She had just placed Albus Dumbledore and Bartemius Crouch both in a trap. Both men looked quite uncomfortable.

"I am afraid there was no original trial, Madam Bones," Cornelius Fudge said, with a grave sigh, "My predecessor in office, Millicent Bagnold, did not think it prudent. I was not made aware of this event until recently."

Fudge winced as there were several gasps and murmurs. The main conversation was clear: a man was sent to Azkaban without a trial?

"As far as I am aware," Fudge said, "The decision to send Mr. Black to Azkaban was decided between Millicent Bagnold, Bartemius Crouch – the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time - and Albus Dumbledore. Obviously it was a grave mistake, as a trial should have taken place. Rest assure that I will investigate this matter in due time. I believe we should move forward in this trial."

Amelia could read between the lines. Fudge knew that Dumbledore had deliberately kept information to himself that might have prevented Sirius from going to prison. But Fudge wanted to save face for the Triwizard Tournament. "Due time" for such evidence to be released to the public wouldn't come for at least a year.

"Mr. Black," Dumbledore said, "I believe it would be prudent for you to describe the events of the Godfather Ritual you took part of, if only to ease the minds of my fellow Wizengamot."

"Of course, Chief Warlock," Sirius said. "On the day Harry Potter was born, James asked me to be his son's godfather. I accepted with a warm heart and, admittedly, moist eyes. Three days later, Lily and baby Harry finally came home from St. Mungo's. There was a private celebration, a 'welcome home, Harry' if you will amongst friends and family. Afterward, James and Lily took me aside. We performed the Godfather Ritual with Harry. During the Ritual, I swore on my very life that I would never betray James, Lily and Harry Potter. It was easy to do, since I had already sworn such several years before, for James, and later for Lily when she became a part of the large, unofficial family. Madam Bones is correct to say that I would have been a rotting corpse had I betrayed James, Lily and Harry. Not because of the ritual, but because I would have harmed myself before ever thinking about doing the same to them."

"Very well," Dumbledore said, "Due to evidence provided, I believe the charge of conspiracy to commit murder can be dropped. There is knowledge that James and Lily Potter used a Secret Keeper to hide their safe house. It was believed that you were the Secret Keeper. Is this fact?"

"No, Chief Warlock, it is not," Sirius said, "I was, of course, James and Lily's first choice for Secret Keeper. But that made me the obvious choice. I knew that. The night they asked me to be their Secret Keeper, I came up with a solution instead. Peter Pettigrew should be their Secret Keeper. Nobody would suspect they would use him. They agreed, though I know the action was not an easy one."

"Are we to believe that Peter Pettigrew betrayed James and Lily Potter?" Dumbledore asked.

"Whether or not you believe it, it is fact," Sirius said, "It is true."

"So that is why you killed him," Rufus Scrimgeour said, "You believed you were seeking vengeance."

"I admit to pursuing him," Sirius said, "I admit that I _wanted _to kill Peter Pettigrew that evening. However, I could not."

"You could not?" Scrimgeour asked, "You're telling us that have you evidence that differs from several witnesses who swear they saw you murder Peter Pettigrew and twelve Muggles?"

"I did not murder Peter Pettigrew," Sirius said, "Peter Pettigrew is alive and well!"

There were gasps, murmurs and buzzing around the Courtroom. Dumbledore slammed his gavel.

"Silence in the Court!" Dumbledore bellowed.

It took ten seconds for silence to reign again. All eyes were on Sirius Black. Several members of the Wizengamot were glaring at Sirius.

"If I may," Umbridge said, "Correct me if I am wrong, but did I hear you correctly, Mr. Black, when you said Peter Pettigrew is alive and well? If that is true, then why has he never come forward? Why has nobody ever seen him? Why did he never relieve his mother, Patricia, of the burden and knowledge that she had to live to see her baby boy die, before her own untimely death? What proof, what evidence do you have of your statement?"

"To answer your first question," Sirius said, "Peter Pettigrew is a coward first, and a Death Eater second. He remained in hiding all these years because he didn't want anyone to find him. But I finally did. I finally found him. The first time I saw him, I was in Azkaban, a few days before I walked out."

"You say Pettigrew was in Azkaban?" Scrimgeour asked.

"Of course not," Sirius said, "I saw him in a picture in the Daily Prophet."

"Are we to believe Peter Pettigrew was in a picture in the Daily Prophet," Scrimgeour asked, "And only _you _recognized him? For starters, where did you _even _obtain a copy of the Daily Prophet?"

"From Minister Fudge," Sirius said.

All eyes were on Cornelius Fudge. He spluttered and cleared his throat.

"It is possible," he said.

"Alright," Scrimgeour said, "Answer the other questions, Mr. Black. How were you the only person to recognize Peter Pettigrew?"

"Not very many people would have recognized him for what he was," Sirius said, "You see, at the time, he was disguised in his Animagus form, as a rat. If I may remove it from my robes, I have the picture and article here in question."

"Madam Bones," Scrimgeour said, "If you will, train your wand on Mr. Black while he retrieves said evidence."

Amelia shrugged, brandished her wand and pointed it at Sirius. Sirius only smiled and retrieved a newspaper article. He lifted it in the air for everyone to see. Scrimgeour immediately summoned it with his wand and looked at it.

"I have in my hand what appears to be a Daily Prophet article," he said, "Announcing that the Weasley family won the monthly raffle and had taken holiday to Egypt. There is a picture of the entire family and... I do find a rat. Am I to understand this rat is actually Peter Pettigrew?"

"Indeed it is," Sirius said, "He disguised himself as a pet. At the time he was owned by one Ronald Weasley, who at the time was a friend of the two Witnesses for the Defense."

Rufus Scrimgeour looked at Harry and Hermione as did most everyone else.

"Mister – my apologies – Lord Potter?" Scrimgeour said, "Can you confirm Ron Weasley owns a rat?"

"He _owned _a rat, sir," Harry said, "It is no longer in his ownership. His brother, Percy, owned it before Ron did, and Percy gave it to him when he was given an owl for becoming Prefect. I believe the story was that when Percy was a small boy, he found a rat in the road near their family home, and the rat was sickly."

"Do you know when young Percy found the rat?" Scrimgeour asked.

"I believe Ron said it was the winter months of 1981," Harry said.

"Am I to believe the rat was in the Weasley's family for _twelve years_?" Scrimgeour asked, "Lord Potter, do you know how long rats, even magical rats, live for? If they're lucky they can live up to six years. I can understand why children are led to believe it is the same rat. The parents simply replaced it without their knowledge."

"Ah, but the rat in question had a distinct injury, sir," Hermione said, "It was missing a finger, or toe, on its paw. Do you really believe the Weasleys are cruel enough to cut off the toe of a rat to hide the fact that the child's pet died?"

Scrimgeour raised his eyebrows. "I suppose not."

"Ron's rat had the same injury for as many years," Hermione said.

Amelia smiled, impressed that Harry and Hermione were able to stand their ground, during the line of questions.

"The same rat living for twelve years with the family," she said, "The best explanation is that it was indeed an Animagus, living secretly as a pet rat for all this time. Unfortunate that Arthur and Molly Weasley never realized there was anything odd with the rat, including its lengthy life."

"Unfortunate, indeed," Umbridge said, "_If _it is true."

"Mr. Black," Scrimgeour said, "How did you know Peter Pettigrew is an Animagus?"

"Simple," Sirius said, "and I admit this with full knowledge that it was a crime. In my fifth year at Hogwarts, myself, James Potter and Peter Pettigrew all successfully became Animagi. Unfortunately we did not register. As I said, I know that is a crime. James was a stag, and I am a black dog, my appearance similar to that of the mythological creature known as the Grim. Peter Pettigrew is a common garden rat."

"Mr. Black," Scrimgeour said, "If you could, please transform into your Animagus form, just for proof for the Wizengamot to see."

Sirius turned to Amelia, obviously asking silently if she agreed with the request. She had a feeling where this was going, but she was ready for it. She nodded.

She watched as Sirius stood up and walked to the center of the floor. Then his body changed form and soon he was the large black dog. A few people in the crowd, obviously the superstitious ones, exclaimed in fright at the sight. Sirius was quite correct when he said his form looked similar to the Grim.

The sight of the large black dog brought Amelia down the metaphorical path known as memory road, back to the first time she had ever seen the dog...

(_Flashback – Summer of 1978)_

_Nineteen year old Amelia Bones walked out of the summer home she and four of her best friends were currently staying at on holiday, and onto the beach. The holiday home was nestled on the beach, magical charms prevented erosion. It was the best beach-view home anywhere in the world._

_Amelia traveled the beach in search of her boyfriend, Sirius Black._

_"Sirius?" Amelia called out, "Where are you, you little rascal?!"_

_Suddenly she heard a loud barking sound as a large black dog started running at her._

_"Oh, you are a handsome little devil, aren't you?" Amelia asked, "Who do you belong to?"_

_The dog attempted to jump on her and she backed away._

_"Don't do that!" she reprimanded, "You're wet! And you smell like wet dog fur!"_

_Suddenly the dog started convulsing and Amelia was afraid it was having a seizure. Then all of a sudden there was no longer a dog. Instead it was a young man: her boyfriend, Sirius Black., currently dressed in swimming shorts and nothing else._

_"Sirius!" Amelia exclaimed, shocked, "You – you – you're an Animagus?!"_

_"Yes, I am," Sirius said._

_"How did I not know this?" Amelia asked, "When did you achieve this?"_

_"Ah, yeah, about that," Sirius said, rubbing his head and grinning, "I achieved it in fifth year."_

_Amelia gaped. "You kept it a secret all this time? How?"_

_"I would get in trouble otherwise," Sirius said._

_"Trouble?" Amelia asked, then realized what he meant, "Sirius, you – you're... unregistered? Sirius, that's illegal! I told you I want to take an apprentice job at the DMLE. How am I not supposed to report this?"_

_"Because you love me more than a stupid career?" Sirius asked._

_Amelia now knew how he had achieved his puppy-dog eyes expression._

_"You... you... mutt!" Amelia growled. "You know me so well and... damn you. Don't make me regret this!"_

_"Never, Amy," Sirius said._

_Amelia smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck then kissed him deeply. Then a thought crossed her mind, and she backed away before Sirius could continue the kiss._

_"How many of you Marauders are Animagi?" Amelia asked. "You do everything together."_

_Sirius laughed, awkwardly. "Yeah... about that..."_

_(Flashback ends)_

Amelia broke from her reverie just as Sirius returned to human form and took his seat.

"Mr. Black," Dolores Umbridge said, "I have a question for you?"

"Yes, Madam," Sirius said.

"You admit you are guilty of being an unregistered Animagus," Umbridge said, a large smile playing at her lips, "How are we supposed to believe you at all that you are not guilty of any of the other crimes you're accused of?"

* * *

**I thought that was a nice stopping point. Oh, Umbridge, you damnable woman!**

**Can you guess where Amelia and Sirius were in the flashback? Hint: the location has been mentioned but not seen yet in the story.**

**Next chapter: The trial concludes. Harry and Hermione are not done yet with their part of the defense!**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	24. Sirius Black Vs The Wizengamot, Part 2

**Chapter 24  
Sirius Black Vs. The Wizengamot, Part 2**

**Author's Note: As of last chapter, this story has passed well over 1500 reviews and is on 100+ C2 Communities, a milestone! Thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to review, even if it was a few words, or full sentences. I appreciate all of it, and every time my e-mail says I have a new review, I read it! Unless I am asleep, then I wake up in the morning and have a lot of reviews to read! So thank you!**

**This chapter begins shortly before the last chapter ended.**

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**Saturday, June 22nd, 1994  
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**Harry Potter grinned as Sirius transformed into the great black dog, Padfoot. Several people in the room, including Umbridge, all shrieked at various volumes. Harry rolled his eyes. Obviously they were superstitious of the Grim. Padfoot barked happily and Dumbledore slammed his gavel.

"Silence in the Court!" Dumbledore said, "Black, I believe the Wizengamot can clearly see your talent. Please return to your human form."

Sirius did as was requested and sat back down in his chair.

"Mr. Black," Umbridge said, "I have a question for you?"

"Yes, Madam," Sirius said.

"You admit you are guilty of being an unregistered Animagus," Umbridge said, a large smile playing at her lips, "How are we supposed to believe you at all that you are not guilty of any of the other crimes you're accused of?"_  
_  
Harry narrowed his eyes at Umbridge. He knew exactly what the evil bitch was trying to do. She was trying to win over members of the Wizengamot – she wanted to rake in the guilty votes. However, it was obvious her plans would crumble from the start. Several members of the Wizengamot were glaring at her. Harry looked toward Sirius and Madam Bones for their reactions. Sirius looked amused, and Amelia was smiling.

"Madam Umbridge," Amelia said, "I am sure everyone in this courtroom remembers Chief Warlock Dumbledore proclaiming that Sirius was not guilty of one crime already. And Sirius and myself are currently in the middle of proving how he is innocent of the other charges. Chief Warlock Dumbledore, Minister Fudge, I must object to Madam Umbridge's line of questioning. In my honest and educated opinion, she is simply treasure hunting for guilty votes from members of the Wizengamot."

Umbridge scowled loudly. "Ridiculous. I have never in my life -"

"Sit down, Dolores!" Fudge ordered; Umbridge pursed her lips and shrank back into her chair. "I happen to agree, Madam Bones. I hereby revoke Madam Umbridge's role of Interrogator for the remainder of the trial. I will take over the role."

"Scribe, please take note of this change," Dumbledore said.

Harry looked around the courtroom and could tell there was more than a few people, including those in the Wizengamot, pleased with this move.

"Let us continue," Dumbledore continued, "Mr. Black, you have given us evidence that you are indeed an Animagus, which does help give evidence to the fact that Peter Pettigrew _may _have been an Animagus, a rat. But past evidence still continues to support the fact that Peter Pettigrew is dead. I would say he was 'dead and buried' but there was no body found to bury. Merely a finger. Rufus Scrimgeour asked it best a few minutes ago. Do you have any other evidence besides the picture of a rat that could prove Peter Pettigrew is alive and well?"

"Quite a bit, thank you," Sirius said, "The most reliable is the proof which one can see. The two Witnesses for the Defense can give you that type of proof. But first, I will tell you another story. It starts and ends with a young man's mistake. The night of James and Lily's death, I went to their house. As someone who knew the Secret, but was not the Keeper – therefore could not tell anyone the Secret if they were not a part of it - I could visit their safe-house from time to time, and send post to their residence.

"Earlier that evening I went to visit Peter Pettigrew at his flat. But he was not home. I was very worried. I wondered if he went to visit James and Lily, so I went straight there on my motorcycle. What I saw tore a hole in my heart that has not healed. A large hole was in the roof of the house, right over Harry's nursery. Smoke was billowing from the hole as well as various windows. The door was wide open. Before I could go inside, Rubeus Hagrid stepped out the door, holding a little bundle in his arms. The little bundle was my godson, Harry.

"Hagrid told me not to go inside the house. Said it was an awful, terrible sight. Said James and Lily were dead. I told Hagrid to give me Harry. If James and Lily were dead, then it was my responsibility as Godfather to raise Harry. But Hagrid said no."

Sirius paused and turned his head toward one particular person in the Wizengamot seats. It was easy to see he was looking at Albus Dumbledore. Harry looked at Dumbledore who was staring back at Sirius through his glasses.

"Hagrid said Albus Dumbledore had given him orders," Sirius continued. "He was to take Harry away, to Dumbledore. I told Hagrid again, it was my duty to raise Harry as Godfather. Hagrid refused again, said I had to take it up with Dumbledore. I promised I would do just that. I lent Hagrid my motorcycle, and before I knew it, Hagrid and Harry were gone. There was my first mistake. Letting Harry go. It left me alone.

"Alone in my head, alone to my thoughts. Alone to walk into the house and find the bodies of two of the greatest people I will ever know. That, too, was a mistake, to look upon them. It filled me with rage and guilt. Guilt that I had not accepted the role of Secret Keeper. Guilt that I hadn't gotten there sooner. Guilt that I didn't realize Peter Pettigrew was the rat he had always been. Rage filled me. I left and Apparated straight back to Pettigrew's flat. I yelled and roared for Pettigrew to show his traitorous face. Then I see him coming up the road.

"Another mistake was the fact that I had caused a scene. Muggles were starting to gather, but I only had eyes for Pettigrew. I was seeing red. I yelled at Pettigrew and whipped out my wand. Pettigrew yelled at me 'How could you, Sirius? James and Lily! You killed them!' I knew that moment that Pettigrew had a part to play in their deaths. James and Lily had just died. Nobody had time to tell Pettigrew they were dead. He must have been there with – with You-Know-Who.

"My next mistake was that I did not go into the confrontation with a clear head. If I did, I might have prevented what happened next. Pettigrew took out his wand, and next thing I knew, the street exploded and there were dead Muggles and crying and screaming. I was blown back due to the explosion, and landed pretty hard. But I was able to see Pettigrew. He was alive. The rat had killed Muggles, but had survived the explosion. And then, to my shock, he points his wand at his hand, and lobs off one of his fingers. Then, as I had witnessed it several times before, his body contorted and he shrunk and transformed into his rat Animagus. Last thing I saw of the rat until years later was him running into the sewer through the destroyed street.

"When the Aurors found me, I was experiencing all kinds of emotions. I am told I was laughing. Maybe I was. Laughing at the incredulity that Peter Pettigrew had outsmarted me at last."

Sirius went silent. Beside Harry, Hermione had misty eyes. There were a few people clearing their throats, as if they were attempting to stow their emotions.

"That is quite the story, Sirius," Dumbledore said.

"It is true," Sirius said, "Every word. I may not have murdered Pettigrew, but I wanted to. I may not have murdered those Muggles, but I wasn't able to save them either. For nearly twelve years, I lived with the guilt in Azkaban. Dementors wouldn't take it away. Nor would they take away the rage I felt for Pettigrew. So when Minister Fudge gave me that newspaper, and I saw the rat standing on the boy's shoulder, I saw red. I was coherent enough to read the article and I discovered that the boy, that Pettigrew was playing pet to, was roommates with my godson, Harry, at Hogwarts. The dirty rat was at Hogwarts."

"Aurors reported hearing you saying 'He's at Hogwarts', in the days before your escape," Rufus Scrimgeour said. "We thought you were speaking about Lord Potter."

"I was speaking of Pettigrew," Sirius said, "Pettigrew was at Hogwarts, in the vicinity of my godson. I knew it wasn't long before Pettigrew would try to do what his Master could not. He would try to kill my godson. I knew I had to get to him. So I escaped Azkaban. After nearly twelve years, even my Animagus form was skinny and small. As the dog, I easily escaped through the bars, escaped Azkaban and swam to shore. Took me months to get to Hogwarts. Once I was at Hogwarts, I tried several attempts at getting into the castle to find the rat. It wasn't until earlier this month, the sixth of June that I was finally able to get to him."

Sirius turned to Harry and Hermione.

"My two Witnesses experienced that event just as I did," Sirius said, "I think I'll let them tell you about it. My voice becomes weak if I talk for too long in a short amount of time."

Harry and Hermione both nodded, silently saying they would tell the story.

"Very well," Fudge said, "Lord Potter, will you please describe the events that happened on June sixth of this year."

"Yes, Minister," Harry said, "Hermione can assist me at parts. The entire story we are about to give can be confirmed through my memories in a Pensieve."

"Very well," Fudge repeated; he flourished his wand and a Patronus appeared – though Harry could not identify the animal – and scurried out of the room. "I have just summoned a professional Legilimens who will be impartial to today's trial. They should arrive by the time the Witness testimonies are finished. Please begin, Lord Potter."

So Harry began to tell the story of that fated evening to the best of his memory. Hopefully retelling the story would bring it to the front of his mind. After all, to him and Hermione, they had experienced nearly four years of new memories, instead of only a couple of weeks. He started with the visit to Hagrid's, with Ron and Hermione, to comfort Hagrid about Buckbeak the Hippogriff. He continued with the rat's appearance, before back-tracking and explaining that it had recently run away from Ron.

Cornelius Fudge appeared quite surprised to hear that Harry, Hermione and Ron had been in the area at the same time that he, Dumbledore and MacNair had been there, but he did not say anything. Dumbledore seemed to already know that the students had been there because he didn't show much of a reaction.

Next, Harry talked about how the rat – whom he and Hermione had referred to as Scabbers during the story – was trying to do its best to get away from Ron. Then Harry spoke of seeing the large black dog. Sirius visibly winced when Harry spoke of the dog grabbing Ron and dragging him away.

On and on, Harry and Hermione continued with the tale, and there were no verbal interruptions. There were some expressions of surprise, disbelief, fright, anger, or amusement, coming from the Wizengamot, but they allowed the Witnesses to continue.

Harry and Hermione each described thoroughly the first time they had seen Pettigrew, when he transformed from the rat. Then it was time in their story for the werewolf part. Harry looked over his shoulder and found Remus who nodded his permission to tell that part of the tale.

So Harry continued on, describing Remus' transformation, Sirius' attempt to fight off the werewolf, in order to save the children, then Harry chasing after Sirius to the edge of the lake.

"... and next thing I knew, I woke up in the Hospital Wing."

"I think that is a fine place to end your story, Lord Potter, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said.

Harry did his best not to roll his eyes. Obviously Dumbledore didn't want the Wizengamot, Minister of Magic, and a room full of people, including media, to know about the time-turner story.

"Do any of the Interrogators have any questions?" Dumbledore asked.

"Lord Potter, Miss Granger," Scrimgeour said, "How do you know that the person you saw transform from a rat was actually Peter Pettigrew?"

"He answered to his name," Harry said, "and to his nickname, Wormtail. He knew who Sirius and Remus were, and they knew who he was. The general conversation made me believe that this truly was Peter Pettigrew."

Harry hesitated. He needed to give more proof. He had another tool of proof, but to give the knowledge away the was using such a tool was risky. He decided it was necessary. For Sirius.

"Also," he continued, "my father, Sirius, Remus and Pettigrew had an invention they made at Hogwarts, known as the Marauder's Map. As an heirloom, it wound up in my possession. I don't have it on me, but I could submit a memory of myself using the map. The map shows you the name and position of every single person at Hogwarts at the present time, and it never lies. I saw Peter Pettigrew on the map after Ron lost Scabbers."

"Can you confirm that this... map exists and that it does what Lord Potter says it does, Mr. Black?" Scrimgeour asked.

"Every word he said is the truth," Sirius said.

"Lord Potter," Scrimgeour said, "How long have you had this map?"

"Only this year, sir," Harry said. "Since around December, I'd say."

"And you never saw Pettigrew's name before?" Scrimgeour asked, "Perhaps near Ronald Weasley?"

"By a strange coincidence, I don't think I've ever once had to search for Ron on the map," Harry said, "We were almost always together, as best friends. Nor did I ever look at my own dormitory. I suppose I might have found Pettigrew's name if I had. Scabbers was almost always there while at Hogwarts."

"I have no more questions," Scrimgeour said.

"Minister, any questions for the Witnesses?" Dumbledore asked.

"The professional Legilimens should be able to confirm their statements," Fudge said; there was a light rapping on the main door of the room as soon as he said this, "and I believe that is them now!"

Fudge pointed his wand at the door and it opened. Harry looked over his shoulder and saw the familiar figure of Kingsley Shacklebolt walk into the room.

"Auror Shacklebolt," Fudge said, "Please will you step forward?"

Kingsley walked up the aisle and stood at attention near Sirius and Amelia.

"The Defense's witnesses," Fudge said, "have requested using their own memories as evidence. I want you to perform the procedure. You are also skilled at Legilimency, are you not?"

"I am, Minister," Kingsley said.

"I ask you to perform a scan on the Witnesses," Fudge said, "to confirm that the copies of their memories are real and not fabricated. But they have requested you take a Vow to promise that you will only scan the required memory."

"I can agree to that," Kingsley said.

"Raise your wand," Fudge said; Kingsley did so. "Kingsley Shacklebolt. Do you vow to scan only for confirmation of the requested memory from Harry James Potter and Hermione Jean Granger, and nothing else in their minds or memories?"

"I do, Minister," Kingsley said, clearly.

"So mote it be," Fudge said, "You may proceed."

Kingsley turned and walked over to Harry and Hermione. He spoke to Harry first. "Please focus on the memory in question. Do not fear. This is a painless procedure."

Harry focused on the memory and nodded that he was ready. Kingsley performed the necessary actions and placed the silver strand of memory in a vial.

"Focus on my eyes," Kingsley said.

Harry did as was requested. After thirty seconds, Kingsley moved to Hermione and went through the same process with her. He turned to the Wizengamot.

"I can confirm that the memories submitted for evidence are one-hundred percent real," Kingsley said.

"Scribe take note of the events with the impartial Legilimens," Dumbledore said.

"Auror Shacklebolt," Fudge said, "Could you perform a scan on Mr. Black and discover whether or not his statements today have been the truth? It would save us a lot of trouble."

Kingsley nodded and walked over to Sirius. After a minute's procedure of the Legilimency scan, Kingsley turned to the Wizengamot once again.

"I can confirm," Kingsley said, "that the entirety of the defendant's statements made in the courtroom today are one-hundred percent honest."

"Scribe, take note of Auror Shacklebolt's statement," Dumbledore said.

"Thank you," Fudge said, "Submit the evidence then you may leave, Auror Shacklebolt."

Kingsley did as was requested then proceeded to leave the courtroom. Fudge and Dumbledore spoke silently to each other. Dumbledore nodded and turned to Sirius.

"I believe we can wrap this up," Dumbledore said, "There will be a ten minute recess while the Wizengamot decides their vote. Wizengamot, Minister Fudge has declared a Silent Vote. Therefore, in front of you, there is a strip of parchment. Write down 'Innocent' or 'Guilty' and tap your wand on it, so that it may be tallied up. Ten minute recess."

Dumbledore smacked his gavel.

"I can't believe it!" Hermione exclaimed in a low voice, "Sirius wasn't allowed a final statement?"

"Maybe that's a good thing?" Harry asked. "The Legilimency scan seemed pretty concrete."

"I agree with you, Harry," Tonks said, "Hermione, a final statement didn't matter. A good percentage of the people in those chairs already decided their vote by the time the two of you were finished with your stories. The rest... they had their votes decided the moment they entered the courtroom, long before they heard anything from Sirius, Amelia, or the two of you."

"That is illegal!" Hermione growled.

"That is pureblood politics for you," Tonks said. "You know there are likely free Death Eaters in those seats. They know Sirius is innocent. But in the Great War, Sirius fought against them and their families. They just want vengeance. The rest... well, it is hard to say how they'll vote. Even the Dark Alliance members who aren't Death Eaters. The Ancient and Most Noble House of Black was a predominantly Dark family until Great Aunt Walburga died. There are likely old allies of the Blacks in those seats, people who are looking to get on Sirius' good side. It is all politics. But don't count that as a bad thing. I have a good feeling about this."

She smiled in reassurance, but Harry didn't match it. He hoped she was right. He looked at Sirius, and found that his godfather was relaxing in his chair. He didn't seem nervous at all.

The minutes passed. Harry studied several of the faces in the Wizengamot. Several of these people must have never heard of the Muggle card game "poker" because their poker face was horrible. Umbridge's decision was obvious; dimwits like Crabbe and Goyle could predict how she would vote. But in addition to those who would obviously vote guilty, there were some expressions who seemed as if they would vote the complete opposite.

Now that Harry got a good look at the Wizengamot, he realized they were not sitting in random spots. He could clearly see that the three alliances: Light, Neutral, and Dark, were sectioned off into three sections. He observed the Light section. Aside from his own House, and the Bones – since Amelia had removed herself from the Wizengamot for today's trial – he was sure every a member of every major House in the Great Alliance were sitting in those seats. Augusta Longbottom was someone he recognized, of course, but she was the only one he knew. He recalled the names of those represented: Abbot, Boot, MacMillan, Greengrass. Greengrass was Neutral, Harry recalled. Harry searched amongst the Neutrals. Was Daphne's father in one of those seats?

He was fairly sure he knew how the Great Alliance would vote today. They would not want to anger the grandson of their Alliance's founder – especially since it was likely he might bring two Houses – Potter and Peverell – back into their Alliance, strengthening it again. Also, if the House of Black was added through Sirius, that would strengthen it even more. An ironic smile crossed his lips. He might loathe pureblood politics, but at least there was some good out of it.

Harry was starting to realize what Tonks had been trying to say. A good percentage of the people in those seats didn't care whether Sirius was innocent or guilty. Light, Neutral, Dark, they each had their own personal agenda. People were selfish. That was one of the laws of nature. Right up there with the idea that "to err is human." Sirius was clearly innocent. Everyone could see that unless their brain was the size of a toad. But there would be a number of guilty votes amongst the innocent. Harry knew this. It just all came down to the higher number.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, ten minutes passed and the last vote was submitted. The tension in the room was palpable. As soon as Dumbledore smacked the gavel, the room – which had been full of the buzzing which had been common since before the trial had even begun – hushed almost immediately. Beside Harry, Hermione was clutching his hand, tightly. Sirius was staring forward, showing no visible signs that he was nervous. Amelia was looking at Sirius and the Wizengamot at random intervals.

"Recess is over," Dumbledore said, "Has every member of the Wizengamot submitted their vote?"

"They have, Chief Warlock Dumbledore," a witch sitting next to the Court Scribe said, "And the votes have been tallied."

"May I have the decision, please?" Dumbledore asked.

The witch walked over to Dumbledore and handed him a piece of parchment. Dumbledore studied the parchment for a moment, his expression so unreadable that Harry couldn't figure out the result, or what Dumbledore's reaction to it was.

"In the case of Sirius Orion Black," Dumbledore said, clearly, "By a vote of twenty-six over fifteen. The defendant... has been cleared of all charges."

"YES!" Sirius' voice raised above the rest of the room.

He jumped from his seat and gathered a rather surprised – and emotional – Amelia in a hug. Meanwhile, Hermione had leaped on Harry and hugged him, happily weeping softly. Tonks wrapped her arms around both of them in a hug. More than a few around the public seats were clapping enthusiastically. The media were already asking questions. Cameras were popping as they took several pictures, and, unfortunately, Harry had a feeling there would be pictures of him, Hermione and Tonks hugging.

"Court is adjourned," Fudge said, loudly, attempting to be louder than the crowd, "Media, please hold your questions until later. A scheduled question-and-answer period will be available. Sirius Black, may I have your attention?"

The room quieted as Sirius turned to Fudge.

"Yes, Minister?" Sirius asked.

"On behalf of the British Ministry of Magic," Fudge said, "and myself, I'd like to apologize to you. it seems a grave wrong had been committed against you all these years. Congratulations, Lord Black, you are free to leave of your own accord."

"Thank you, Minister," Sirius said.

The fact that he didn't verbally accept Fudge's apology was heard loudly around the room. Fudge was obviously doing his best not to show any negative reactions. Obviously the man had been trying to lead some kind of agenda here that might lengthen his stay in office.

Sirius turned in Harry's direction, and Harry grinned and walked over to him then hugged him.

"Were you nervous, kid?" Sirius asked.

"A bit," Harry said, honestly.

Sirius barked a laugh. "Come on, kid. Let's get out of here before the vultures start to hover. I don't have to meet with them for a few hours."

"There may be a couple I want you to meet sooner rather than later," Harry said, in a low voice, "And you won't like one of them, but it is all part of my plan. I'll explain it later."

"Alright," Sirius said.

"Lord Potter," Amelia Bones said.

Harry turned to Amelia and smiled. "Madam Bones."

"Wonderful job today, to you and Miss Granger," Amelia said, as Hermione and Tonks approached.

"You too, ma'am," Harry said.

"Cadet Tonks," Amelia said, "How goes the bodyguard detail?"

"Entertaining, to say the least," Tonks said.

"Excellent," Amelia said, "Sirius, I'm sure you want to celebrate with family and friends. Come see me later this afternoon and we can work out some final details. I can also give you your wand back then."

"I look forward to it," Sirius said, "Come on, kids. Let's get out of here. Moony is probably waiting for us outside."

"We have a couple people to meet to discuss future business with," Harry said, "I'm sure they're waiting as well."

"Luna said she would meet us with her father out in the hall, Harry," Hermione said.

"Then we shouldn't keep them waiting," Sirius said.

Harry, Hermione, Tonks and Sirius headed out into the corridor outside the courtroom amidst the voices of congratulations. They soon found Remus waiting with Ted and Andromeda Tonks.

"I'm a free man, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed, with a laugh, as he bear-hugged his taller friend.

"I had no doubts, my friend," Remus said, the emotion obvious in his voice.

Sirius released his friend and turned to Andromeda.

"Andie," Sirius said, "You've gotten more beautiful over the years."

"Oh, Sirius, you old dog," Andromeda said, with a sniffle, as she engulfed him in a hug, "It is so good to see you. Thank goodness that the good people of the Wizengamot won over the nasty ones today. It doesn't always happen, but it does when it counts."

"I hear that," Sirius said; he backed away and turned to Ted, shaking his head, "Ted, been looking after my favorite cousin for me?"

"I never take my eyes off her if I can help it," Ted said, "I see you've reunited with our Nymphadora."

"Don't call me that, Daddy!" Tonks said.

Sirius laughed. "Aside from height, she hasn't changed at all."

Tonks harrumphed. "Mum, Daddy, I would like to introduce you to two friends of mine: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."

"Harry Potter," Andromeda said, "Of course I recognized you as soon as I saw you. I asked my Ted if I was dreaming, thought I was looking at James again. But those eyes... dear, sweet Lily's. It is lovely to see you again, after all these years. Knew you when you were a baby. Proud of you, your parents were."

"It is nice to meet you, ma'am, sir," Harry said. "Your daughter is an excellent bodyguard and better friend."

"Oh, aren't you a charmer!" Andromeda said, smiling.

"That's my godson for you!" Sirius said, grinning.

After promises that Sirius would get together with Andromeda and Ted for dinner one night, he, Harry, Hermione, Tonks and Remus made their way down the corridor where Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood were talking to a man they seemed familiar with. Harry recognized the man as someone he had seen sitting amongst the Wizengamot.

"Harry, Hermione!" Luna said.

"Hello, again, Luna," Harry said.

"Daddy," Luna said, "This is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger."

"Ah, a pleasure," Xenophilius said, offering a hand, which Harry shook, "I was looking forward to meeting you. Do you know who our friend is here? He was wishing to meet with you as well."

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, apologizing to both Xenophilius and the gentleman, "I don't believe we have ever met."

"This is Castor Greengrass, Harry," Sirius said, "One of the members of the Great Alliance."

"Daphne's father," Harry realized, then offered his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"The pleasure is mine, Lord Potter," Castor said, "Xenophilius just informed me that my daughter and Luna, here, have something in common."

Harry smiled. Over Luna's shoulder he saw Rita Skeeter hovering some feet away down the hall. He knew it was time to set the trap.

"Ah, yes," Harry said, "The Betrothal Contracts."

Harry glanced at Rita and saw her look in his direction with raised eyebrows and a smile.

"Well, this is an opportunity," Harry said, "Two birds with one stone. I was planning on arranging a meeting with Mr. Lovegood to discuss the contract. I'm willing to arrange a date and time to meet with you and your family as well. At the moment, I am staying at my – ah – girlfriend's house. Until next Saturday when I hope to return to Potter Manor."

"I see," Castor said, minor surprise lightening his face at the mention of Harry's girlfriend, "Well, I'm afraid that starting next Saturday, my family and I will be out of the country on holiday. But we're available for dinner any time between now and then, including weeknights."

"If I can send a letter to you this evening," Harry said, "I'm sure by then I could come up with a possible day. I understand you want an adult present on both sides of the conversation, and now that Sirius is free, he would be perfect as the representative of my side."

He glanced at Sirius, who smiled.

"My first official role as Godfather!" Sirius said, "I look forward to it!"

"Excellent," Castor said, "I will keep an eye on the sky. A pleasure to meet you."

"You as well," Harry said, shaking his hand again.

"I must be off," Castor said, "I'll let you tend to business with my friend, Xeno, here."

Castor smiled, bowed his head lightly and walked away.

"Wonderful chap, he is," Xenophilius commented. "Lord Potter, I suppose we, too, should agree on a date and time."

"According to Luna, sir," Hermione said, "You wished to meet my parents?"

Xenophilius smiled at Hermione. "Miss Granger, was it? Yes, I would very much like to meet your parents."

"If you're available for dinner tomorrow evening," Hermione said, "And Harry and Sirius is agreeable, I think I could convince my parents to join us."

"I am quite open to that," Xenophilius said, "We can have dinner at my house, unless that is a problem?"

"Do you still live at the Rookery?" Sirius asked.

"Home sweet home!" Xenophilius said, grinning.

"Not a problem then," Sirius said, "I am sure I could convince Hermione's dear parents that I could bring them via Apparation. It will be difficult, since I haven't met them. But I think I could do it."

"Excellent," Xenophilius said.

"I'll send Luna a letter tonight with confirmation," Harry said.

"I look forward to our meeting, Lord Potter," Xenophilius said, "I might even be able to whip out my Solicitor's Pensieve and show you a memory of the original Betrothal agreement with your parents."

"I... would look forward to that, sir," Harry said, smiling; he glanced at Rita, if he was going to set his trap, he needed to finish this conversation, "I have just seen someone I recognized. I'll see you soon, sir, Luna."

Xenophilius bowed his head lightly. Harry smiled at Luna, then turned and walked in Rita's direction.

"Miss Skeeter of the Daily Prophet?" Harry asked, "Is that you, ma'am?"

Rita's eyes widened, and her lips turned into a wide grin.

"Lord Potter, it is a delight to finally meet you!" Rita said, "I am indeed Rita Skeeter!"

"I noticed you were eavesdropping in my conversation with Mr. Lovegood and Lord Greengrass," Harry said, "I'm sure you are looking forward to writing all about my Betrothals, correct?"

"Perhaps, Lord Potter, perhaps," Rita said, "It would be quite the juicy story. My readers would love to know about it."

"I'm not exactly sure my Betrothed or their families wish for that information to get out so soon without their knowledge," Harry said, "I wonder if I could get you to wait on that for a while?"

"I don't know, Lord Potter," Rita said, "I don't see how that would help _me._"

"Well, I'm sure you have a far better article to write," Harry said, "About my godfather, Sirius. Yes, he is an innocent man, but that is not what you like to write about. You like to write about people's bad issues. Sirius admitted guilt to being an unregistered Animagus. I'm sure that is a big issue with you, isn't it? _The crime of being an unregistered Animagus."_

Rita's eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed. Harry smiled.

"I see we are on the same page, Miss Skeeter," he said. "Half-an-hour, Leaky Cauldron. Ask the barman, Tom, for Harry Potter. We can have a private conversation about the future of any articles you write concerning me and my own."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Sirius said, from behind Harry. "And as extra incentive to show up, Miss Skeeter, I will give you my first one-on-one interview."

Rita harrumphed. "You have a deal, Lord Potter, Lord Black. Half an hour."

"Keep your Quick-Quotes Quill to yourself until then, if you will," Harry said, "It really does _bug _me."

Rita frowned, turned and walked away. Sirius laughed out loud.

"James would be so proud of you at this moment, kid!" Sirius said, "You are a Marauder!"

Harry smiled and shrugged. Hermione walked over to him with a wide grin. She hugged him and pecked him on the lips.

"That was absolutely brilliant, Harry!" Hermione said.

"Thank you, love," Harry said, "We should get going. We need to plan exactly what we're going to do with Rita."

"You mean you don't have a plan?" Sirius asked.

"I'm making things up as they go along," Harry said.

Sirius barked out a loud laugh. "Definite Marauder!"

* * *

**Chapter finished. Did you really, truly think I wouldn't free Sirius? Truly? Be honest now!**

**So the trial storyline is over, and more storylines have opened up. More plots are afoot! Some exciting events about to happen over the next few chapters. Surprises and twists you probably won't see coming!**

**I foresee two things that my reviewers might have issue with. First, the summaries of Harry and Hermione's story of the night they met Sirius and Pettigrew. I thought it was better to summarize, since the readers know the story anyway. It was far easier and less time consuming. Second, the Legillimency Scan on Sirius. Yes, it might have seemed rather easy. But Minister Fudge just wanted to get a move on with things. There were no closing statements because... I couldn't come up with anything. So Fudge skipped it.**

**Yes, Umbridge will get what is coming to her. More than once. I promise! She'll be humiliated before her final fate comes!**

**Next Chapter: Harry and Co. meet with Rita Skeeter. And the Aftermath of the trial! Fudge! Umbridge! Dumbledore (maybe)! And Sirius meets with Amelia!**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Addiitonal Note: I've always pictured Castor Greengrass' appearance as similar to Peter Facinelli's Carlisle Cullen in the Twilight movies. Except less pale. He reminds me of Carlisle too, minus the whole vampire thing.**


	25. Chapter 25: No Title

**Chapter 25  
No Title**

**Author's Note: Sorry there is no title. Too much happens for any specific chapter title.**

* * *

**Saturday, June 22nd, 1994  
**_**  
**__Thud. _Harry winced as Hermione set her bottle of butterbeer on the table with just a little too much force than normal. He had noticed that her mood wasn't exactly the best since they had left the Ministry. But he hadn't dared to say anything. He had been on the wrong end of her moods in the many years he had known her. However Tonks, Sirius and Remus were now showing obvious signs that they had now realized she was having a bad mood so he thought he'd better speak up.

They were currently sitting in a private room at the Leaky Cauldron as they waited for Rita Skeeter to arrive. Tom had delivered two cases of butterbeer – as well as some harder drinks for Sirius and Remus, the former demanding he needed one (or a few) much to the latter's chagrin. Tonks had just toasted Sirius and Hermione had set her bottle down with a bit of force.

"Hermione?" Harry asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Hermione said, a little too quickly.

"Exactly how many times have you lectured me when I said 'I'm fine' over the years?" Harry asked.

Hermione scowled. Then she sighed. "Alright. I might be a little angry. That total b... _witch, _Dolores Umbridge, could have screwed everything up for Sirius today!"

"Oh, is that what the issue is?" Harry asked, grinning. "And did you just nearly swear? Sweet, kind Hermione Granger almost swore?"

"I'm serious, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, then pointed at Sirius, "Shut up, Sirius, I'm talking."

Sirius pouted and took a chug of his firewhiskey. Tonks and Remus snickered.

"That _woman _– if you can call her that," Hermione said, "was doing _everything _she could do to make Sirius seem guilty even though the evidence was piling up that he was innocent."

"Did you expect anything better from _her_?" Harry asked.

"Well, no," Hermione admitted.

"Hermione, would it make you feel better," Sirius said, "if I told you that I was never bothered once by Umbridge today? After her accusation that I was guilty across the board simply because I am an unregistered Animagus, I was ninety-five percent sure I would walk out of there a free man. All she did was change a few minds, and not the way she wanted. The complete opposite! She gathered me more 'innocent' votes. I'm thankful! I'd still like the tear the toad limb from limb, but I'd thank her first."

"You might just get your chance, Sirius," Harry said.

Remus paused in taking a sip of his drink and set it down. Then he glanced at Harry, then Hermione and back again.

"She's on your list of assassinations," he said.

"Indeed," Harry said.

"She's not a Death Eater, though," Tonks said.

"Tonks is right," Remus said, "There has been no proof that she is a Death Eater. She's just a Ministry toad who has angered a lot of people including yours truly. Her view on werewolves, Goblins, and anything else subhuman is inhumane. And she considers Muggles and Muggleborn on that list."

"She's a vile, disgusting, evil... thing!" Hermione growled.

"True," Sirius said, "But the world isn't split between good people and Death Eaters. I'm going to assume you encountered her in your future."

"More than we would have liked," Harry said. "I will save you the horror stories for now. Just know she did enough to be added to _the list_."

"No complaints from me, kid," Sirius said, "One less monster in the world. How about Miss Skeeter. Is she on _the list_?"

"Nah," Harry said, "She is an annoying little bug. But she is also useful. We can use her. Oh, we can allow her to write her articles full of gossip and slander, just nothing on us or our allies, families and friends. We get her to write about our enemies. Anyone who comes up as an annoyance, we find out some juicy details and give them to her."

"And she might find even more juice," Hermione said, "Remember all the details she wrote up on Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore will be one of the targets, naturally," Harry said, "What do you bet Dumbledore's pardon of amnesty isn't public information?"

"Harry, the Minister won't like it when that information gets out," Hermione said.

"I'm sure the Minister is used to Rita Skeeter's articles," Remus said. "Cornelius would just believe Rita is fishing and rumor-mongering."

"A lot of focus is going to be on Dumbledore because of today," Harry said, "First there was the fact that he knew about the Godfather Ritual, and was Witness to my parents' Will. The public and media will wonder just how much he knew. Then there is the fact that he is responsible for Hagrid taking me away from you the night my parents died, Sirius."

Sirius nodded. "If we give Rita those two pieces of information, she'll believe it is a good start to an investigation and work from there. Perfect."

"What do we do to make sure she keeps her promises to not write anything about us?" Remus asked.

"The Junior Marauder here uncovered Rita Skeeter's biggest secret, Moony," Sirius said.

"Hermione uncovered it first last time," Harry said.

"Rita Skeeter is a beetle Animagus – unregistered," Hermione said, "She uses it to fly into unwelcome places and conversations unseen."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "I always wondered how she did it. I'd say she's been an Animagus for at least longer than a year unregistered. That is prison time. Yeah, we have her."

"On top of that, House Potter owns forty percent of the Daily Prophet and its sister subscriptions," Harry said, "I'm technically one of Rita's bosses."

"I knew Charlus had put in a lot of investments to businesses," Remus said, "I had no idea they were still around."

"And flourishing," Harry said, "Gained a lot of money over the years. But that isn't important. What is important is Rita Skeeter won't mess with me if she wants to keep her reputation."

"Cheers to that!" Sirius said.

He gulped down the last half of his bottle of firewhiskey in one go. Remus frowned.

"I think that is enough for now, Sirius," Remus said.

Before Sirius could retort, there was a knock on the door, and it opened. Tom poked his head in.

"Daily Prophet journalist Rita Skeeter is out here," he said, "She says you're expecting her, Lord Potter."

"I am, indeed," Harry said, "She can come in."

"Alright," Tom said, "Your meals will be ready shortly."

"Thank you, Tom," Harry said.

Tom backed away from the door and Rita Skeeter walked in. She immediately scowled.

"I didn't expect there to be a party," she said, "I was expecting to talk to Lord Potter and Lord Black."

"Our guests are here as witnesses, Miss Skeeter," Harry said, "Let me introduce you to family friend and former Professor, Remus Lupin, Dora Tonks, my bodyguard, and my girlfriend, Hermione Granger."

Rita looked curious. "Girlfriend? Do you know about Harry's betrothal contracts or did he keep them from you? If you know, then why are you -?"

"I do believe that is enough interrogation of my girlfriend, Miss Skeeter," Harry interrupted. "We are not here to discuss my personal life."

"I was expecting to get some details about you, Lord Potter," Rita Skeeter said.

"What you'll get is far better," Harry said. "I have several enemies, Miss Skeeter. Many of whom would be wonderful targets for your slanderous quill to ooze information over. I guarantee I have some pretty big names. You'll also get your freedom and keep your reputation intact. In turn, you will leave me, my friends, family and allies alone. Aside from the promised interview Sirius has offered, of course."

Rita's lips pursed as she stared at him. "Fine. Shall we begin? I have a press conference to attend in about an hour with the Minister. Do not make me late or deal is off."

"Then we shall begin," Harry said, "Take a seat."

Rita crossed the room and sat at the very end of the table away from the group.

"First things first," Harry said, "You will use a normal quill or Dicta Quill or both. No Quick-Quotes Quill. They can tend to be very faulty, adding or changing words they hear."

A sour expression crossed Rita's face, so Harry continued.

"Second, just so we're all on the same page," he said, "I think you should know exactly what you have to lose if you cross any of us or our allies, family and friends. You're a beetle Animagus. No, I will not tell you how I know. I know you are unregistered. Care to tell us exactly how long you have been an unregistered Animagus?"

Rita said nothing. She just continued to rummage through her bag, obviously looking for the proper quills.

"Since you are frightened of the news getting out," Harry said, "I'm going to say at least a year, though my Galleons are on the fact that it is much longer. That is prison time."

"Something you may or may not know about me, Harry," Sirius said, "I was an Auror for a short time before my incarceration. If I remember, anything past six months failing to register, and you get a month in prison for every month past six that you've been an Animagus. Has that changed, cousin?"

"Nope," Tonks said.

"Even if you were an unregistered for less than six months," Harry said, "You'd have to pay a heavy fine. Might seem like something you can live with. News flash for you, Miss Skeeter. The Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter owns forty percent of the Daily Prophet and its sister subscriptions."

Rita looked up for the first time since Harry started discussing her criminal history. She looked genuinely shocked, and a bit scared.

Harry smiled widely. "So... technically... you're speaking to someone who is up there on the same level as your employer. I don't like to throw my titles around, but I _am _the Boy-Who-Lived, Miss Skeeter. If I were to put word out there of your criminal wrongdoings, you would be finished in the world of journalism, your reputation _utterly destroyed_."

"You've made your point, Lord Potter," Rita said, "Let's move on to the part that is good for me. If I am satisfied I promise to be a good little girl."

"Every so often," Harry said, "I will write you a letter about someone who I want you to write about. I will give you enough to work with. You can investigate further if you wish. Add that on top of everything else you have to work with – that doesn't involve me or anyone else I am happily associated with – and I think you'll have enough to work with. If – and only if – I get permission from my Betrothed and their families, will I allow you to announce our Betrothals, and it will be your exclusive story as will be everything else I give you."

Rita actually had the decency to look impressed. "I suppose I can work with that. Aside from Lord Black's interview, do you have my first target?"

"Yes," Harry said, "I have chosen someone who you could write a series on – multiple articles just to tease your readers and keep them wanting more."

"I like where this is going," Rita said, "Who is it?"

"Albus Dumbledore," Harry said.

Rita grinned as if she had just tasted a delicious treat. "Lord Potter, I was under the impression you were the Headmaster's little savior. That you and Dumbledore got along famously."

"Recently I have discovered that is anything but true," Harry said.

"Do continue," Rita said.

"You were there at the trial," Harry said, "You heard that he was the official Witness of my parents' Final Will and Testament. The fact that Sirius is my Godfather and went through the Godfather Ritual is now known. The fact that Dumbledore knew this is known too and is free to be speculated on. Let me give you another piece of information from my parents' Will. I had several guardians listed in addition to Sirius, all of whom were citizens of British magical society. My Will explicitly stated that I was never supposed to live with my Muggle Aunt and Uncle. _Never. _Where did Rubeus Hagrid bring me on Albus Dumbledore's orders the night my parents died, after he refused to leave me with my godfather? My Aunt and Uncle's house, where I lived there until recently when I became Emancipated. He brought me there against my parents' wishes."

Rita was writing furiously, doing this by her own hand since she couldn't use a Quick-Quotes Quill.

"Rita?" Harry said, narrowing his eyes, "Rubeus Hagrid is my friend. Do not use this story to insult him, or anything else you may hear about him. Dumbledore only. I am giving you permission to say that I lived with my Muggle relatives against my parents' wishes. I could have been a citizen of wizarding society all these years, living with friends of my parents if I couldn't live with Sirius – if it wasn't for Dumbledore."

"Fine," Rita said, obviously crossing off something, "Nothing about Hagrid."

"Do you have enough to write an opening article about Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"Perhaps," Rita said.

Hermione scoffed. "Don't try to get more out of Harry right now. We want to see results before we give you more. And we have plenty more. I assure you. We have enough information to last you until Christmas... at least."

"I can give her one other important piece of information, Hermione," Harry said, before turning back to Rita, "Are you aware that Minister Fudge has given Dumbledore a pardon of amnesty for a year?"

Rita looked up from her notes so fast, she must have cricked her neck. "Is this true?"

"Very," Harry said, "Do you know what event is going to be at Hogwarts starting late October?"

"I've heard several rumors," Rita said.

"She doesn't know what it is," Remus said.

Rita scowled. Harry grinned.

"We'll keep it to ourselves for now," he said, "Just know it is something that Fudge believes is so important he wants nothing to happen to Dumbledore in the criminal sense until this event is over next June."

Rita smiled. "Interesting. Very interesting. Fine. You've given me much to work with. But I better get more before your next birthday, kid. I have enough stories to write – none concerning anyone you would be affiliated with in your dizziest daydreams – until then."

"You'll get it," Harry said. "If you're a good little girl, your birthday present for me will be announcing my betrothals to Great Britain. Seems like something you would do."

Rita smiled, then turned to Sirius. "Lord Black, I assume I can ask you some questions."

"I reserve the right to not answer anything I deem off-topic," Sirius said.

"Very well," Rita said. "For starters: What are your opinions on the trial today? The behavior of your Interrogators, the questions, your opinion on how they treated your godson and his... friend. I believe you know where I am going with this."

"It was a fair and speedy trial," Sirius said, "I was in the courtroom for far less time than I thought I'd be. I thought they would drag it out, but they did not. The Interrogators listened to everything I said, and aside from one particular Interrogator – Madam Umbridge, so there is no confusion – the questions were fair and nothing unorthodox. My godson and his friend did very well, and earned the same great respect they dished out. I couldn't be more proud of them."

Harry and Hermione smiled and Sirius returned it.

"Do you have any opinions on, or messages for, those who voted you guilty?" Rita asked.

"I knew coming into the trial there was not going to be a unanimous decision," Sirius said, "Politics reach far and wide in the Wizengamot – it doesn't remain in Wizengamot sessions. Some people couldn't keep their personal feelings to themselves, and they tried to punish me for it. Thank goodness the Wizengamot is filled with good people to counter the bad."

For the next few minutes, more questions followed. There were some regarding Sirius' testimony in which Rita asked to clear up a few things. Rita wanted to know about Sirius' life in Azkaban. Then she wanted to know what Sirius would do as a free man.

"I am going to attempt to return to the Auror Department," Sirius said, "But first I need to get better. I am not one-hundred percent."

"I have one last question and this is just slightly off-topic," Rita said. "Madam Amelia Bones was quite impressive today representing you. She shocked everyone when she volunteered herself. The fact that the two of you were Betrothed before you went to Azkaban is no secret, Lord Black. Can we expect the two of you to fulfill the Contract now that you are a free man."

Sirius narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rita. Harry thought he would raise his voice at her, but he inhaled and exhaled then cleared his throat.

"I do not know what the future holds, Miss Skeeter," Sirius said, "It is possible. Unless she has canceled the contract because she feels my incarceration breached it, then I suppose there is a chance. I do not know."

Rita raised an eyebrow. "From the way the two of you embraced, I'd say there is more than a chance."

Sirius cleared his throat. "That is the end of our conversation. Don't you have a press conference to attend in about half-an-hour?"

"You are correct," Rita said, as she started packing, "Lord Black, Lord Potter, this has been an eventful and informative meeting. I look forward to future correspondence."

"One last thing, Rita," Harry said. "If I get a whiff that you used any pseudonyms in _any _media outlet, in an attempt to breach our agreement, our deal is over and I will give up the information I have on you to the authorities. Miss Tonks here is an Auror Cadet, and it appears my godfather may be back in the Auror Department before the end of the year. They would know what to do with the information if I give the say-so. For now, they are agreeing to keep it quiet."

"No need to threaten me, Lord Potter," Rita said, "I am smart enough to know I have a lot to gain from partnership with you. I said it earlier... I'll be a good little girl. Besides, do I look like someone who would use pseudonyms?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, "What kind of last name is Skeeter? It sounds so _bug-like._"

Rita harrumphed. "Keep a leash on this one, Lord Potter. Good day."

"Hold up, Miss Skeeter," Remus said, "You need to sign your name."

"On what?!" Rita asked.

"I have written a contract for you to sign that assures you will not breach the agreement you made with Lord Potter," Remus said.

Harry grinned. That was not part of his plans, but it was something he should have thought of.

Rita harrumphed again, took the paper and signed her name. She shrieked lightly when her arm began to sparkle.

"Ruddy official contracts," Rita growled, then proceeded to leave the room.

"Ooh, I'll show her a leash!" Hermione growled. "How about a belt?! Smack her upside the head!"

Sirius laughed. "Every day you remind me more of Lily, Hermione."

"Sirius," Remus said, "You've been keeping a secret from me. How long have you been thinking about returning to the Aurors."

Sirius shrugged. "Just something I was thinking about. Ah, lunch!"

Tom had picked that moment to come into the room with trays of food floating behind him.

* * *

_(Half-an-hour later)_

Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge was currently standing in front of a podium in the large waiting room outside the Minister and Ministerial Staff Offices. Several members of the media were sitting in chairs in front of him. Several cameras were standing around the room, pops and flashes going off at random times.

"Welcome representatives of the media," Cornelius began, "I will begin with a statement concerning Lord Sirius Black's trial then I will take questions. If you are interested in questioning Lord Black or Madam Amelia Bones, they will be holding their own combined press conference in roughly an hour outside her office in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If we keep this press conference brief, I am sure you can get there in time."

There were a few chuckles. Cornelius smiled, then sobered up.

"Nearly thirteen years ago, there were several injustices done," Cornelius began his statement, "Tragedy and violence, and a madman ended the life of two outstanding citizens of our society, James and Lily Potter, and orphaned their son, Harry. By the time the sun rose on the first of November of nineteen-eighty-one, twelve Muggles were dead, killed by a wizard. It was believed that another wizard had been killed. The apparent culprit at the time had been apprehended. An apparent injustice was done when the accused, Sirius Orion Black, was sent to Azkaban Prison without a trial. I had no knowledge of this injustice. If I had... well, I was one of the little people back then. I had no say in what happened."

Cornelius smiled weakly, then frowned. "It is apparent that the true betrayer of James, Lily and Harry Potter escaped. For nearly twelve years, an innocent man was imprisoned while the real culprit, Peter Pettigrew was hiding out as a rat, his Animagus form, with an innocent family. That family was very lucky that Pettigrew never harmed them. Said family has had to endure recent hardships. I will be personally speaking to them soon enough, and giving my fullest of apologies that nothing was done sooner. At the moment they may not even know what was going on. I ask the media to allow myself and Ministry representatives to speak to the Weasley family before such news reaches the rest of the public, in order to give them a warning."

He let this soak in then continued. "As I was saying, for nearly twelve years, an innocent man, Sirius Black, was imprisoned in Azkaban before he broke out because he had a personal mission. He wanted to save his godson, Harry Potter. He was hunted by Dementors, Aurors, and Hit-Wizards, and might have been killed had fate not stepped in. Luckily fate intervened, information was brought forward and I was able to give Lord Black a trial. And as of today, Lord Black has been proclaimed innocent! Something that should have been done all those years ago. I will personally be looking into why there was no original trial which should have prevented an innocent man from spending so much time in Azkaban. Such information will be released in due time.

"That is my statement. I will now take questions."

"What is the current news about Peter Pettigrew?" a reporter asked, "Lord Potter claims Pettigrew was last seen over three weeks ago, escaping from Hogwarts."

"As far as we know," Cornelius said, "That is the most recent update. We don't know he was alive until today. I assure you, the Auror Department and Department of Magical Law Enforcement will begin a thorough investigation. There will be a manhunt for Pettigrew beginning in the coming days. Next question?"

"Who is to blame here, Minister?" another reporter asked. "Bagnold? Her administration? Bartemius Crouch? Albus Dumbledore? Who is to blame for Sirius Black failing to take part in a criminal trial after his arrest?"

"As I said in my statement," Cornelius said, "An investigation will begin into that. I cannot answer that until I have the correct information. We should not lay blame on anyone."

"Minister," Rita Skeeter said, "I believe all of us here know that Albus Dumbledore is to be blamed for at least some of his actions concerning the events. It is apparent that he knew Lord Black did not betray the Potters – given that he was the official Witness to their Final Will."

"That is true," Cornelius said, nervously; he wanted to avoid all questions about Dumbledore. He knew they were coming. "But -"

"We heard it straight from Sirius Black," Rita said, "Albus Dumbledore could be guilty of kidnapping, Minister. Rubeus Hagrid, I believe was mentioned as taking baby Harry Potter from his godfather, when it was Lord Black's right as godfather to raise the boy. Lord Black said Hagrid was doing it for Dumbledore."

Cornelius sighed. He did not know how to get around this. He knew that Dumbledore was obviously guilty of something. There was only one thing he could do.

"Albus Dumbledore has been given a Minister's pardon of amnesty at the present time," Cornelius said.

Several of the reporters gasped.

"What made you come to this decision, Minister?" Rita asked.

Cornelius cleared his throat. He needed a story, even if it was a lie, it had to be believable. "Albus Dumbledore is assisting me and my administration with a serious investigation at the moment. I am sure that everyone here can understand how a man of his magical stature and skill may be useful in such things. There are lines he may have to cross which means I had to give him access to those lines. Once the investigation is through, I will get to the bottom of the new revelations discovered. I cannot speak anymore about such things for the integrity of the investigation."

Cornelius mentally pat himself on the back for that tale. "Moving on with more questions?"

"Dolores Umbridge, your Undersecretary crossed a line today during the trial," a reporter said, "As Madam Bones said, Umbridge was 'treasure hunting for guilty votes' when Lord Black was clearly innocent. Can we expect any actions against her because of this?"

Cornelius sighed, knowing he would regret this. "Indeed. Madam Umbridge made bad decisions today. The issue will be dealt with."

There were a few more questions, but nothing as serious as what Cornelius had just dealt with. Still, he was sweating by the time he walked into his office, his secretary following behind him.

"Daisy, write a letter to Arthur Weasley to be sent out as soon as possible," he instructed his secretary, "Give him a statement regarding Pettigrew and the part his sons innocently played in the situation. Inform him that I wish to meet with him and his children at his soonest available moment. Daisy, have I invited anyone to the final match of the Quidditch World Cup yet as my guest?"

"You were making a list," Daisy said, "Lucius Malfoy and his family was on top of it."

"Arthur Weasley and his family are my guests," Cornelius said, "Great publicity. How many kids does he have?"

"Seven, I believe," Daisy said.

Cornelius whistled, "We might end up having to add a couple more rows to the Minister's box. Not important at the moment. Let's see..."

Cornelius glanced at the small portrait on the wall behind his desk. "Is my schedule clear, Daisy?"

"Let's see," Daisy said, "Clear until this evening, Minister. You have a few open hours."

"Abernathy, is the Muggle Prime Minister in his office today?" Cornelius asked.

"Yes, he is, Cornelius," the man in the portrait said.

"Please inform him I will be meeting with him in half an hour," Cornelius said.

The man in the portrait nodded and vanished.

"Daisy, is Dolores available?" Cornelius asked.

"She is in her office," Daisy said.

"Get her in here," Cornelius said.

"Yes, Minister," Daisy said, and left the office.

Cornelius sighed, rubbed his eyes and walked over to his desk and sat down. Dolores Umbridge walked in at that moment, and closed the door behind her.

"What can I do for you, Cornelius?" she asked in her sickly-sweet voice.

"It isn't what you can do, Dolores," Cornelius said, "It is what you've already done. You embarrassed me in front of everyone at Black's trial today."

"I do not understand," Umbridge said, "You asked me to do my best to convince the Wizengamot to vote Black guilty. You wanted him to be found guilty, because any other decision would backfire in your face."

"And it has backfired!" Fudge said, "I had to admit to the public that Dumbledore is under an amnesty pardon. I am going to have to work overtime to save face for the Triwizard Tournament. It must stay in Great Britain! It must!"

"Well, I apologize," Umbridge said, "But I did my best."

"Your best?" Cornelius asked, "You made it obvious! I told you not to cross Amelia Bones."

"I did not know she was going to be Black's representative!" Umbridge said.

"Dolores, that does not matter," Cornelius said, "You made a spectacle of yourself. The media was hounding me about you today. You risked this very administration. You risked my chance at another term in this office, Dolores."

"You're not going to sack me?" Umbridge asked.

Fudge sighed. "No. But I am going to suspend you for one month. I'll dock half your pay."

"Minister!" Umbridge gasped.

"_It could be worse, Dolores!" _Fudge growled. "One month. If the focus on you has quieted down by then, I will revoke your suspension. I am sorry, Dolores. It has to be done."

Umbridge spluttered and looked as if she was about to cry.

"Please leave," Fudge said, "I have to prepare for a meeting with the Muggle Prime Minister. The Muggles need to know Sirius Black is innocent, and there is a different dangerous fugitive. Hopefully we can get a good image of Pettigrew from Lord Potter's memory."

Umbridge harrumphed and walked out of the office.

"Cornelius?" Abernathy asked, "The Muggle Prime Minister will see you in thirty minutes."

"Thank you, Abernathy," Cornelius said.

Cornelius groaned as he relaxed in his chair. Damnable Black! Why couldn't he have stayed in Azkaban. The man had only caused all kinds of problems for him. It would take a miracle to keep the Triwizard Tournament in Great Britain.

If that didn't happen... well, he could kiss his position, administration and plush office goodbye!

* * *

(_Half-an-hour later)_

Sirius Black knocked on Amelia Bones' office door and was greeted by a beautiful young blonde woman who appeared to be around Dora's age.

"Well, hello there," Sirius said, "And who are you?"

"Please let Sirius in, Samantha," Amelia said, "Then leave us be. But be sure to inform us when the media come for the press conference."

"Yes, ma'am," Samantha said.

Samantha smiled at Sirius then walked out of the room. Sirius closed the door, grinned, and turned to Amelia. She was sitting at her desk in a comfortable looking leather chair.

"You didn't want to introduce me?" Sirius asked.

"She knows exactly who you are," Amelia said, "Come sit down."

"I don't know who she is, though," Sirius said, as he walked over to the chair and sat down.

"She is Samantha Fudge, my secretary," Amelia said.

"Fudge?" Sirius asked.

"The Minister's niece," Amelia said, "I know... she's far different than the Minister. It was a surprise. She's been my secretary for two years now, started just out of Hogwarts. Cornelius suggested her. She was in Dora Tonks' year at Hogwarts."

"Younger than I thought," Sirius said.

Amelia raised an eyebrow.

"I know that look," Sirius said, "You don't need to be jealous."

"Jealous?" Amelia echoed, "More like afraid for my secretary."

"So we're going to avoid the obvious hippogriff in the room," Sirius said, grinning.

"This is not the time or place to discuss the topic you're alluding to," Amelia said.

"Amelia, if you destroyed the contract because I breached it," Sirius said, "Just tell me. I'm dying here."

"I did not destroy it, Sirius," Amelia said. "It is in my safe at home."

"Good place to hide it from your boyfriends," Sirius said.

"There were no boyfriends," Amelia said.

"Girlfriends?" Sirius asked, raising his eyebrows and grinning.

Amelia glared at Sirius. "No comment. Sirius, I've been raising my niece, and I've been all but married to my work. I've been too busy for any more of a personal life."

"I hope you simply weren't waiting for me," Sirius said; he frowned when she didn't answer, "Oh, Amy..."

"So what if I was?" Amelia asked, "Sirius, we were planning our wedding. Yes, we wanted to wait until after the war..."

"So I am to blame?" Sirius asked. "Is that what you're saying."

"I did not say that," Amelia said, narrowing her eyes, "And I will never say that. Was it honestly terrible of me to hope that you would be released from prison? That someone would finally find something that proved you were innocent like I knew you were, but couldn't obtain the information until recently?"

"No... it wasn't terrible of you," Sirius said.

"I am sad to say I gave up after a couple years," Amelia said, "I focused on my niece and on my work. I tried to forget you, and for that, I am truly sorry. When you last saw me, we were planning our wedding. Now... aside from a few memories and dreams, I forget what it was like to be your girlfriend and then fiancee. Your Betrothed."

"Well then, it is obvious," Sirius said, "Would you do me the honor of joining me for dinner in the near future? We can start over and eventually we can bring up the Betrothal Contract again."

Amelia smiled as her eyes misted over. "I'd love that. We'll probably be seeing a lot of each other anyway. Our –ah – hmm... I'd say wards, but Harry is Emancipated. Hmm... well, anyway, Susan and Harry are betrothed."

"Harry told me," Sirius said, nodding, "I was shocked when I heard Susan was one of them. Kind of a strange coincidence."

"Nah, it is exactly what James wanted, I'm sure," Amelia said, "Of course he had made the contract before Edgar was killed, but... once he knew I was Susan's guardian... well... he knew you and I were to be married. Across generations, Sirius Black and James Potter would be as close as the brothers they always claimed they were once Harry and Susan married."

Sirius grinned as his eyes misted over. "Never thought of it that way. Three girls. Harry is marrying three girls. How did Lily ever agree to that?"

"She loved Charlus, Sirius," Amelia said, "He was a second father to her, just like he was to you. When Charlus died, she cried as much as she did when her own father died. She would have done anything to help his Alliance, even combining his House through her son and three others in the Alliance."

Sirius nodded. "Charlus was one of a kind."

"Yeah," Amelia said, "Alright, Sirius, we need to get down to business. As you know, you are officially a free man. The Ministry has cleared you of all charges, including the unregistered Animagus charge, due to the years you spent in prison. But you _need _to register, Sirius."

"Well, now that my secret will be out in the public by tomorrow," Sirius said, "There is no reason not to register. Thank you for keeping it a secret all these years."

"I did promise," Amelia said, smiling. "Unfortunately, there will be no monetary gain for the years you spent in Azkaban. That law was abolished a long time ago."

Sirius snorted. "I have enough money anyway."

"As I am sure you know," Amelia said, "Your mother died whilst you were in prison."

"Apologies if I don't break down," Sirius muttered.

Amelia smiled. "I wasn't expecting it. So you are now Lord Sirius Black, Head of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. The Summer Solstice has already recently passed. You will be able to bring the Black House back into the Wizengamot during the Winter Solstice Session if you wish. You will have to go to Gringotts to take control of your Signet Ring and Vaults. They kept your personal Vault as it was the last time you were there."

"Thank Merlin the Goblins don't care for human drama," Sirius said, with a relieved sigh.

"As you know," Amelia said, "Harry Potter recently became Emancipated. So he technically does not need a guardian. He does need a Mentor for the Muggle world, basically a Guardian since he'll still be a minor to them."

"He's hinted that that will be me," Sirius said, nodding.

"Alright," Amelia said. "Last but not least..."

Amelia reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a thin box. She passed it to him and he opened it up. He smiled when he found it was his old wand.

"Thought it had been destroyed," Sirius said.

"Bartemius Crouch wanted to snap it, but I saved it," Amelia said.

"Thanks," Sirius said.

"Any questions?" Amelia asked.

"What would it take for me to return to Auror duty?" Sirius asked.

Amelia raised her eyebrows and smiled. "A Ministry-supported Healer must pass you as healthy for two months in a row, then you can take a short training exam – written, verbal and physical, just to make sure you remember everything. If you pass everything, you're reinstated."

"Alright," Sirius said.

"You would be welcomed back with open arms," Amelia said.

"As long as those arms are yours," Sirius said, grinning.

"I already said yes to a date, Sirius," Amelia said, "Don't push it."

"Still the same beautiful, feisty woman I fell in love with," Sirius said.

"Still the same dog that nearly knocked me over on the beach in La Rochelle," Amelia said.

Sirius laughed out loud. He had nearly forgot about that. The thought made him frown soon after.

"Damned Dementors," Sirius said, "Took a lot from me. A lot about you."

"We can make new memories, Sirius," Amelia said, smiling.

Sirius nodded. "I'd like that."

A knock on the door interrupted the moment. The door opened.

"The media is here for the press conference," Samantha said.

"Ready, Sirius?" Amelia asked.

"With you, Amy," Sirius said, "I'm ready for anything."

* * *

**D'aww. I truly love Sirius/Amelia. One of my favorite fan-fiction exclusive ships.**

**So, so much happened this chapter.**

**Next Chapter: Amelia meets with Ron and interrogates him. Sirius meets Hermione's parents, and Harry and Co. have dinner at the Lovegoods. A couple twists happen! One you might see coming, and one that I doubt anyone will see coming at all! Nasty cliffhanger incoming. Just nasty!  
**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	26. Return To The Rookery

**Chapter 26  
Return To The Rookery**

**Author's Note: For anyone confused, the "Rookery" is the name of the Lovegood house, at least according to the majority of the fandom. This chapter is quite long. I wanted to get everything I promised into it. Which I did... however... along the way, a random Honks! (or at least a nice teaser of it) scene appeared! Something I didn't plan, but my mind and fingers didn't care about that!**

**Also, the Lovegood House is quite different in detail than the movie.**

**Both private thoughts and memories will be seen in italics in this chapter. Don't confuse one for the other.**

* * *

**Saturday, June 22nd, 1994**

It was nearly four-o-clock in the afternoon when Amelia Bones stepped onto the fourth floor of St. Mungo's and made her way through the corridors toward her eventual destination. Arthur Weasley was waiting for her when she arrived.

"Arthur, my apologies if I have inconvenienced you," she said, "It has already been a _very _busy day."

"No inconvenience at all," Arthur said, "I've been checking on my children every hour through the Floo Network, and nobody has blown up the house yet." He chuckled weakly, then sighed. "Actually, I might have been okay with the house in shambles. It would be a sign that things were relatively normal around the Burrow. The house hasn't been the same without Molly. Even the news that Bill and Charlie will be home tomorrow isn't bringing spirits up."

"I'm sure something good will come soon," Amelia said.

"I hope so," Arthur said, "Any good news on your end."

"Sirius Black was declared innocent today," Amelia said, "He is a free man."

"That's wonderful!" Arthur said, "Don't get too much news waiting around here. I'm sure I'll hear about the whole thing soon."

Amelia had half-a-mind to tell Arthur about Peter Pettigrew and his connection to the Weasleys, but she knew he would hear it from other sources inside the Ministry soon. She had been told that the Minister wanted to personally speak to the Weasleys about it. Besides, that was not why she was meeting with Arthur and his youngest son.

"Well, Ron will be free to go as soon as I finish meeting with him," Amelia said, "I'm sure he wants to get home. Have you read the Healer's report?"

"Yes," Arthur said, "I could not believe it. All those concoctions! I never would have guessed. Amelia... do you think my wife fed him some of those?"

"I'm afraid she might have had to, in order to keep them running through Ron's system," Amelia said, "I will see about getting a Healer to visit Molly and give her a thorough check-up. She might have had a few concoctions of her own in order to do such things to her own children."

"I'd appreciate that," Arthur said.

"Arthur," Amelia said, "all evidence I have points to the fact that Ron was quite wrong about Harry Potter and Hermione Granger cursing and hexing him. Even with the Potions out of his system, he might be convinced. We need to explain that the potions could have done some funny things. Made him believe things that weren't true. Really, it is as if Ron was stuck between trying to be Harry and Hermione's best friend and being disillusioned into becoming irrationally jealous of them, to the point he might have hated them. When the pair became a couple, the jealousy potions mixed with his own adrenaline, and took over. What I'm trying to say is, don't believe anything he may say about Harry and Hermione, at least when it comes about anything they might have done to him.."

"All right," Arthur said.

"Can I go in and speak with him?" Amelia asked, "You're welcome to join, of course."

Arthur nodded and lead Amelia into the room. Ron was sitting up in bed, reading a comic book.

"Son?" Arthur asked. "You remember Madam Bones, don't you?"

Ron looked from his father to Amelia. "I remember. Did you arrest Harry and Hermione?"

"No," Amelia said, "Ron, all evidence I have points to the fact that Harry and Hermione had nothing to do with you being hexed. Were you told of the Potions that were running through your system?"

"Um... yeah," Ron said, "I think I understood most of them. They made me loyal to Dumbledore and stuff. I had no choice otherwise."

"They also made you hate your best friends, Ron," Arthur said.

Confusion crossed Ron's face.

"The potions made you hallucinate," Amelia said, "They made you believe your best friends hexed you. When you heard that Harry and Hermione were a couple, the jealousy potion you were fed made you irrational and think that they had physically hurt you. In truth, someone else was responsible for it."

"Who?" Ron asked.

"Professor Dumbledore," Amelia said.

"No," Ron said, shaking his head, "I couldn't be him. He promised me... he promised Harry would be my best friend."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. "When was this?"

"The last week of August, before my first year at Hogwarts," Ron said, "He sent me a letter and a Chocolate Frog. The card was of Professor Dumbledore. He signed it."

Amelia's mind whirled. Chocolate Frogs could easily hold potions inside them. Maybe Molly Weasley hadn't been responsible for dosing Ron after all...

"What did the letter say?" Amelia asked.

"It told me to meet Harry on the Hogwarts Express," Ron said, "If I sat with him, we would end up having a conversation and may become friends."

"When was the next time you personally heard from Dumbledore?" Amelia asked, "A letter or face-to-face."

"The first Saturday of the month," Ron said, "We met every Saturday that I was at Hogwarts. Dumbledore wanted to know what Harry was up to. He wanted me to be descriptive."

"He asked you to spy on Harry?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, I guess," Ron said, "He promised me passing grades and money and candy if I helped him."

Candy. Amelia's mind continued to swirl. How much of the candy was dosed with potions? Amelia knew she had discovered exactly how Dumbledore continued to dose him.

"Tell me everything you remember," Amelia said, "involving everything Dumbledore discussed with you about Harry and Hermione."

"He didn't like it when Hermione became Harry's friend," Ron said, "Even before she became Harry's friend. Dumbledore wanted me to scare her away. He wanted me to tease her and bully her. On Halloween that year, it finally worked. I made her run off and cry all day. Then she got attacked by that troll, and Harry and I saved her. Dumbledore didn't like that. Hermione had become Harry's friend, and Dumbledore asked me to act as Hermione's friend in order to spy on her too. So I did. I reported about them every Saturday. It continued on and on like that. Er... only really other bad thing I remember is when Hermione got Petrified, Dumbledore was angry. Not because she was Petrified, but because she wasn't dead."

"Oh, dear," Arthur said.

"Thank you, Ron," Amelia said, "We'll be right back. I need to talk to your father."

Amelia led Arthur back into the hall. He looked pale and emotional.

"I can't believe this," Arthur said, "Why is Dumbledore so interested in Harry and Hermione? Enough that he is threatened by their friendship? Enough that he wants her dead so she isn't Harry's friend?"

"It is all about control," Amelia said, "Dumbledore wants to control Harry for some reason. I think he's wanted to control Harry ever since the night his parents died. I learned today he basically ripped Harry from his godfather's arms, just to bring Harry to his Muggle relatives. Harry wasn't supposed to grow up there. James and Lily's Final Will forbade it. But Dumbledore wanted him there."

"Two summers ago," Arthur said, "Ron, Fred and George flew my enchanted car from the Burrow to Surrey and back. They said Harry's bedroom had bars on his windows. And he was being fed cold tinned soup. As punishment. Does Dumbledore know about that?"

"I think he knows exactly what Harry experienced with his relatives," Amelia said.

"Merlin's beard," Arthur said. "And he did nothing to prevent it? He continued to send Harry back?"

"It appears so," Amelia said, "Arthur, you're not going to like what I have to say next. Once you hear my idea, you have my full permission to tell me to piss off. I will not be offended."

"Alright," Arthur said, looking confused and curious.

"First, Arthur, you need to know something," Amelia said, "I can't arrest Albus Dumbledore for an entire year. Fudge gave him a pardon of amnesty. Do you know what is going on at Hogwarts this year?"

"I've heard rumors," Arthur said.

"A big event," Amelia said, "Something that Fudge doesn't want to get moved out of Hogwarts and Great Britain. If Dumbledore was to be arrested, the ICW might move the event from Hogwarts."

"I can see Fudge's reason behind it," Arthur said.

"Here is where it gets worse," Amelia said, "First off, I believe I know how Ron's been dosed. I don't think your wife did it. Remember what Ron said he got in Dumbledore's first letter?"

"A Chocolate Frog," Arthur said.

"Candy like that could hold doses of Potions," Amelia said, "Dumbledore could give Ron candy, and he'd eat it and would unknowingly get dosed. Check all letters Ron receives this summer."

"Of course," Arthur said.

"There's more," Amelia said, "Imagine what would happen if Ron were to return to Hogwarts. Dumbledore would discover that Ron is no longer dosed and under his control. Dumbledore would be furious. Ron would likely be dosed again, only worse. True, he no longer has his two main sources of Potion-makers, but he is a crafty man. This is the part where you can tell me to piss off. Ron needs to leave Hogwarts. At least until Dumbledore can be arrested."

Arthur said nothing, so Amelia continued.

"Brighton Auror Academy has a junior academy," Amelia said, "Most of the students there tend to go to the Academy afterward. Like Hogwarts, it is free tuition, you'd only have to pay for school supplies. It is a fairly nice school, so I am told. Ron would be welcomed there. I could get him in so he could begin term on the first of September, just like Hogwarts. His records from Hogwarts would transfer over so he could be with students his own age. The academy is kind of different from Hogwarts. There is a much smaller class size, so Ron would get more focus from teachers to learn. Also, they have sort of a military focus on part of their education. Morning and evening exercises. But if Ron were to stay for the rest of his education, he could graduate to Auror training and become an Auror after one year instead of three. Also, he'd be far away from Dumbledore's influence."

"What about the rest of my children?" Arthur asked, "Fred, George, Ginny?"

"Sit them down and bring them up to date," Amelia suggested, "Let them know what is going on with your son. They may want to remain at Hogwarts but at least they would be forewarned. Ron's already too vulnerable so sending him back to Hogwarts would be risky."

"Well, I'm not going to tell you to piss off," Arthur said, "I believe I'll add Ron in the family discussion, though I will emphasize to him most of all what he would face if he returned to Hogwarts. Whatever is decided, I will be sure to let you know."

"Whatever you think is best for your children," Amelia said, "I believe I am finished here. Ron is not in trouble. He had no control over anything he did. Luckily he didn't do anything too bad. But he certainly helped me in my investigation against Albus."

"You certainly opened my eyes," Arthur said. "Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," Amelia said, "Give my best to Ron and the rest of your family."

Arthur nodded and returned to the hospital room. Amelia started off back down the corridor, her mind brimming with thoughts. The fact that a dangerous man like Dumbledore was pardoned for a year frightened her. She mentally pat herself on the back for assigning Tonks to bodyguard duty for Harry and Hermione. She knew it would likely become quite necessary over the next year. Tonks' offer, to go undercover as a fourth year transfer student so she could be around Harry and Hermione more often at Hogwarts without suspicion from students, was an excellent idea. It was unfortunate Dumbledore would know who Tonks would be disguised as. There was no way they could fool him since he was informed of the idea from the start. How unfortunate that was.

Amelia wondered if she should pull Sirius in to assist her with her investigation. He would likely not be able to be reinstated with the Aurors before the end of the summer. He probably needed something to do when he would not be involved with his godson. This seemed like an excellent idea. Besides, it would help to bring her closer to him again so that, soon enough, they could be back at the point in their relationship that they had been before Sirius was carted off to Azkaban.

She really liked the thought of that.

* * *

**Sunday, June 23****rd****, 1994**

Nymphadora "Don't-Call-Me-Nymphadora" Tonks had just finished with her shower after her morning jog, and was now sorting through her morning post. There was a letter from her mother, asking if she could find time away from her bodyguard duty for a visit, as well as inviting her to dinner with their cousin Sirius.

Tonks groaned at the thought. Ever since she had moved out of her parents' house, the summer after she finished her Hogwarts education, her mother was always trying to get her to come back in some way. She would always go to her parents' house for Christmas, and birthday dinners, but she tried her best to avoid invitations to family dinners for one simple reason:during every visit, her mother was guaranteed to ask about her love-life.

She hadn't had a love-life since her last boyfriend, Charlie Weasley in her seventh year. Charlie had finished his education the year before, and had gone off to Romania to train and raise dragons. They had tried a long-distance relationship, but after he failed to come to see her on her second Hogsmeade visit in a row – as Charlie had promised he would the previous summer – she had broken up with him via owl post. She had known it was a shitty thing to do, but at the time she felt Charlie deserved it.

It wasn't as if she was avoiding romance. She was just having trouble finding someone that she fancied and trusted just the same. The sad thing was the fact that she was having issues, even though her options were far more open than most, since she was quite interested in men, and even okay with possible romance with the same-sex. She had experimented with a same-sex relationship while at Hogwarts and had a fun time, and discovered she was open to it. She just couldn't find anyone, male or female.

There were several who caught her eye while she was in the Auror Corp, but she was very cautious. All of her fellow trainees knew she was a Metamorphmagus. She didn't trust most people who knew of her talents before she dated them. Her very first boyfriend had discovered her talents and wanted her to change her appearance to something he liked. Tonks took this as meaning he didn't like how she chose to look and broke up with him soon after. Suffice it to say that had made her extremely cautious toward searching for romantic interests after that.

Tonks wasn't stupid. She knew her own feelings. She knew very well she _was _attracted to one particular person at that very moment. The fact that he was a few years younger than her was the problem. But then... recently she discovered his secret. She discovered that mentally he was nearly eighteen; far closer to her age than fourteen! But body-wise he was still nearing fourteen. Also he had a girlfriend and three Betrothed who he would be married to in the distant future. Sure his current girlfriend didn't seem to have issues that another girl fancied her boyfriend, which normally would have made Tonks quite happy.

Tonks was just simply confused. It didn't help that she was currently living with her current fancy and had caught him in less than proper clothing several times. There was those two memorable days they had gone swimming at the public pool and she had lingered stares in his direction. Also, more than once she had seen him in naught but a towel after he had gotten out of the shower.

Not today though. Today, he had offered her to take a shower first. So she couldn't get her usual peek. The noble prat!

Tonks tried her best to take her mind off of Harry Potter when something caught her eye that brought such thoughts back in full force. The newest issue of _Witch Weekly _had on the cover of the magazine was a picture from Sirius Black's trial. Sirius Black was nowhere on the cover. Instead it was Harry, Hermione and _her _hugging! The animated image showed Hermione pouncing on Harry, then Tonks engulfing them both in a hug. The large bold letters at the bottom of the cover read:  
**  
BOY-WHO-LIVED THREESOME?: Harry Potter seen in intimate pose with two witches; one much older than the young teen heartthrob.**

Tonks groaned. Loudly. Loud enough that someone had heard her.

"Something wrong, Tonks?" Hermione Granger asked, as she walked into the sitting room.

"Oh, nothing, really," Tonks said, then lifted up the magazine so Hermione could see it, "Just this!"

Hermione gasped and snatched the magazine from her, and studied the cover for a moment before opening the magazine and searching pages. Then her eyes moved back and forth as she read.

"Well, good news first," she said, "The article isn't by Rita Skeeter, and she promised she wouldn't use pseudonyms, so she's keeping all her promises she made."

"Unfortunately it doesn't prevent _others _from writing about us," Tonks said, "Any more good news?"

"Not really," Hermione said, "They were able to identify both of us. Me, because my name came up in the trial, and you – they did their research, they know you are a Cadet Auror, and they kn ow your name."

"They called me by my whole first name, didn't they?" Tonks guessed, rolling her eyes, "Did they mention anything about me being a bodyguard."

"Ah... no," Hermione said, "They're simply speculating that Harry may have two girlfriends, one who is – and I quote – 'old enough to the point of being a cradle-robber.' Huh, I didn't know that was a common term in the wizarding world."

Tonks groaned. "Do you know how many people read this magazine?"

"It is pretty popular amongst the witches at Hogwarts," Hermione said. "Lavender and Parvati love it because it fuels their gossip."

"Yes, and we're all over this issue!" Tonks said, "Why did I have to hug Harry in public?"

"You were excited for Sirius," Hermione said, "We all were."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Tonks asked.

"Simple," Hermione said, with a grin, "Witch Weekly is a sister-subscription of the Daily Prophet. Harry owns a percentage of it. He can just ask them to retract their article. I suppose he _could _tell them I am his girlfriend, just to make them happy. But that you're simply a good friend. Nothing romantic. _Yet._"

Tonks blinked. "_What_?"

"Tonks, I've seen Harry admiring you at the swimming pool when he thinks I'm not looking," Hermione said, "Obviously he thinks I'd have issues with it. I'm simply going to let it play out."

"You are way too open about him being with other girls," Tonks said, shaking her head.

"_Other girls I approve of_," Hermione corrected, "As long as he is with me. I have to be. He is Betrothed to three girls. I'd be in serious trouble if I had a problem with it."

"Yeah, but apparently, I'm a cradle-robber," Tonks said, pouting.

Hermione shrugged. "You'll be undercover as a girl Harry's age come September. If anything should happen in a romantic sense, it would at least appear to be appropriate. I mean he is technically close to your age anyway, if you know what I mean."

Tonks raised her eyebrows. "I haven't thought much about my future undercover work. I don't need to think about it until August, when I need to think of a suitable undercover name, and start practicing wearing my appearance everyday just so I'm prepared. But that isn't until sometime in August. But you are right. I'm beginning to find that is a pattern, you being right about a lot of things. Does Harry find that annoying?"

"Yes, but he knows I would hex him if he complained," Hermione said, grinning.

"Talking about me?" Harry asked, as he made his way into the room. "Any thing I should know about."

Hermione quickly disillusioned the magazine so Harry couldn't see it. Tonks was quite impressed.

"Nope!" Hermione said, "Nothing."

"Girl talk," Tonks said.

"Ah," Harry said, "Have you read today's edition of the Daily Prophet yet?"

"No, not yet," Tonks said.

Hermione shook her head. "Anything from Rita?"

"Yes, but probably not what you're thinking," Harry said, as he brandished a copy of the newspaper. "She wrote about the trial, and her exclusive interview with Sirius. But there isn't anything about Dumbledore yet. It appears she's waiting."

"Or at least trying to put together enough for a good opening article," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Overall, she has kept her promise. She did say we were present at the trial, but nothing more than to say we were Witnesses. Overall she did pretty well. It was her best article I've ever read. That's not saying much. I think we did it, Hermione. We got through to her. She's ours now."

Hermione grinned. "Well, there is one less thing we need to worry about. Think how much less drama we'll avoid without her articles."

"Indeed," Harry said, "So... what is up with the two of you aside from girl talk?"

Tonks simply sat back and listened as Hermione tried her best to come up with something that didn't have anything to do with Tonks' massive fancy for Harry. Tonks made mental note to get the copy of Witch Weekly back from Hermione. She wanted the cover for her scrapbook.

Then another thought crossed her mind. She needed to reply to her mother's letter. Her mother subscribed to Witch Weekly for the recipes. Her mother would certainly find the cover article _very interesting. _Tonks groaned out loud, then her hair and face went red when Harry looked at her.

_I am so screwed, _Tonks privately thought.

* * *

_(Later that evening)_

At half-past-five that evening, Sirius Black strode through a neighborhood in Crawley, making his way to the Granger's residence. He didn't want to Apparate straight in front of the house, so he had to come from down the street. One strange thought was swirling through his mind as he approached.

_That Apparation trip was way too easy, _Sirius pondered. _Usually Apparation is supposed to be more difficult if you had never been to the destination before. But that was a lot more simple than I was used to._

Sirius shrugged, putting it off as something to speak to Remus about. Remus knew more about magical theory than Sirius could forget in his lifetime. His best friend had decided not to take part in the dinner with the Lovegoods that evening.

"It will be awkward enough with the parents of Harry's girlfriend being in the same room while Harry discusses a Betrothal contract _to another girl_," Remus had explained, "They don't need another stranger they don't know."

"But Xenophilius Lovegood has promised to bring out his Solicitor's Pensieve," Sirius had replied, "He'll have a memory of James and Lily. Don't you want to see it?"

"I can always see it later," Remus had said.

Remus wouldn't hear another word on the matter. So Sirius had left Remus relaxing on the couch and reading a book. Sirius considered it quite boring. The lad needed a girlfriend.

Sirius turned and looked at the house he had arrived at. The address was the one Harry and Hermione had given him. He had arrived. He then realized his feet had taken him to the correct house without him thinking about it.

_I think I am going insane, _that little voice in the back of his head began its rant, _I have never been here before. What is going on? How did I know directly where to go without searching house numbers!_

Sirius ignored it and strode toward the front door. He knocked on it, and a few moments later, it opened. He grinned when he saw Tonks standing there.

"Wotcher, cousin!" Tonks said, "You find the house easy."

"Yeah," Sirius said, "Easier than you might expect."

"Brilliant," Tonks said, "Come on in. Where's Moony?"

"Decided not to come tonight," Sirius said, as he walked into the house, "Said he wasn't technically invited."

"I am not technically invited, but I'm going!" Tonks said.

"You're the bodyguard, though," Sirius said.

"And isn't Remus _your _bodyguard?" Tonks asked, grinning.

Sirius glared playfully. Before he could retort, he heard a familiar voice.

"Sirius!" Harry said, as he appeared, with Hermione in tow.

Sirius was soon engulfed in a hug. He was beginning to really like hugs from his godson. They felt nice. Something that should have happened for several years now.

"Hey, kid," Sirius said. "Everyone about ready? Dinner party is at six-o-clock, but I don't think we want to be fashionably late."

"I'll go get my parents," Hermione said, "They're waiting in the dining room."

As they waited, Sirius was left to, once again, explaining why Remus wasn't in attendance. Soon, Hermione returned with two adults who could only be her parents.

"Mum, Daddy," Hermione said, "Let me introduce you Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. You might recognize him from the news reports. Sirius, these are my parents, Daniel and Emma Granger."

"Please call us Dan and Emma,' Dan said, as he walked over to Sirius with his wife, and extended his hand, "Welcome to our lovely home."

"It is an honor to meet you," Sirius said, as he shook Daniel's hand; he then kissed Emma's knuckles, which made Tonks snicker. "News reports?"

"Breaking news this afternoon on the – ah – Muggle news," Hermione said, "You are now a free man in the Muggle world as well! A picture taken yesterday was seen on the news."

"Congratulations on being a free man once again, Mr. Black," Daniel said.

"Please, it is Sirius," Sirius said, "Mr. Black was my father, and I wasn't very fond of the man. I wonder, has Hermione, Harry or my dear cousin here, Miss Tonks, told you anything about Apparation?"

"Only that it is a common way of magical travel," Daniel said, "And it is how Tonks has been getting Harry and Hermione around when not in our car. I've wondered ever since how easier to get from one place to another so quickly."

"Wonder no more!" Sirius said, "It is how I plan to take us to our destination this evening. Tonks has never been to the place, so I am going to have to use Side-Along Apparation for everyone. So if it is okay with everyone, I think we'll go in groups of three, then finally I'll take Tonks. First, Hermione and her dear mother, then Dan and Harry, and as mentioned, then Tonks. I must warn you, however. First time might make you puke."

"Good thing we haven't had dinner yet!" Emma said, nervously.

Sirius smiled. "Is everyone ready to go? Yes. You first, Hermione, Emma."

"Come on, Mum," Hermione said, "Nothing to be scared of. And we can Apparate from right here."

"Alright," Emma said.

Sirius smiled as Emma took one of his hands, and Hermione took the other.

"Back before you can say Quidditch!" Sirius said, "Three... two... one..."

* * *

A few moments later, Hermione opened her eyes and inhaled and exhaled. After making sure they had arrived at their destination, she immediately looked at her mother, who was standing and heaving.

"You okay, Mum?" she asked.

"That was... an experience!" Emma gasped. "I'm fine, darling.

"I'll be right back," Sirius said.

He moved away from Hermione and Emma, then vanished. Now that Hermione knew her mother was alright, she looked at her surroundings. She immediately recognized the towering house that belonged to Xenophilius and Luna Lovegood. It resembled a large stone chess rook. The house and surrounding land was resting on a large hill. In the distance was the small town of Ottery St. Catchpole, and beyond that, Hermione could just make out the familiar building known as the Burrow, the entire plot surrounded by trees that towered taller than the very tall house.

"Oh, wow," Emma said, as she looked at the house in front of her. "It is beautiful. Looks like something I might have painted."

Hermione's mother had a hobby of painting. She loved painting houses and landscapes, so she didn't doubt her mother's words.

A loud pop was heard making Emma squeak loudly in shock.

"Its just Dad and Harry arriving with Sirius," Hermione said, "That noise is the sound Apparation makes, unless you are deliberately stealthy. Is Daddy okay, Harry?"

"I'm fine, sweetheart," Dan gasped, "That was fun!"

"Hello, everyone!" Luna's familiar voice said.

Hermione turned and saw Luna walking out of her house.

"Hello, Luna," Hermione said, as Luna approached, "Luna, these are my parents, Dan and Emma. Mum, Daddy, this is our friend, Luna."

"It feels like I already know both of you!" Luna said, smiling.

Hermione and Harry had talked to her parents about Luna. They were aware that Luna was a little weird, in a sweet way.

"It is lovely to meet you, dear," Emma said. "You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you," Luna said.

Another pop was heard and Sirius and Tonks appeared.

"That's everyone," Hermione said.

"Shall we go inside?" Luna asked, "Daddy's waiting."

It was agreed, and Luna led everyone into the house. The large sitting room that made up half of the enormous first floor of the tower was the first room they entered. Luna's father walked into the room from a doorway on the other side of the room. He was wearing a chef's apron.

"Greetings, everyone!" Xenophilius said, "Welcome to the Rookery!"

He immediately walked over to Hermione's parents.

"You must be the Grangers!" he said, grinning, and shaking their hands, "So wonderful to see you. I must apologize. Dinner is not ready just yet. Soon, but not yet. But it gives us time to get to the main entertainment of the evening already."

"The Betrothal Contract?" Harry asked.

"That can be discussed during dinner, Lord Potter," Xenophilius said, "No, I am talking about a trip down memory lane!"

Xenophilius grinned and walked over to a coffee table. Sitting on the table was a large ornate bowl.

"This," Xenophilius said, "is a Pensieve. But it a special kind of Pensieve: a Solicitor's Pensieve. It is usually used in courtrooms so a large group of people can see a memory. I was given one from a former Solicitor who retired. I helped him a lot late in his career, so he gave me this, since he didn't need it. Now, every once in a while, a Solicitor Pensieve does a very cool thing. See the room we are in? The memory you are about to witness, happened in this very room, many years ago! The memory, when activated, will mold right over this room. It will be like the memory is happening right now. Now, if you will, I ask everyone to step to the far side of the room, so you don't interfere with the memory. Don't sit, please! The memory inhabitants may sit in the same place as you and it would be very weird!"

If anyone was confused after Xenophilius' speech, nobody said anything. They merely walked across the room as Xenophilius prepared the Pensieve.

"Pardon Daddy's excitement," Luna said, "He's been talking about this all day. I'm not sure even I understood everything he was saying today."

Xenophilius mumbled and murmured, then he gasped. "Aha! It is ready. Is everyone ready?"

Everyone merely nodded and waited.

"You're all standing in proper areas," Xenophilius said, "Won't interfere. Good thing, it really is. Okay... three... two... one... and it is starting!"

Hermione looked around the room, waiting for something to happen. Then she heard a crying sound above her.

"That is Luna," Xenophilius explained, "She's crying in her nursery. She was just a small baby. This was only a few months after she was born you see. It was just a few days after Harry's first birthday in 1981. Ginny Weasley wasn't even born yet! That is strange to think about. Oh, look, there... there's..."

"Mummy!" Luna exclaimed. "That's Pandora, my mother."

Hermione watched as a new figure entered the room, appearing through the door Xenophilius had originally come through. Pandora Lovegood was beautiful. It was easy to see where Luna got much of her looks from. Pandora walked across the room in graceful motion, as if floating. Hermione stared at her. Was Pandora really there? Could someone actually touch her, or would their hands go through her?

Suddenly, a loud ringing sound was heard.

_"Xeno, dear!" Pandora said, "That is our guests. Can you get the door. I need to check on Luna."  
_

_A younger version of Xenophilius walked into the room. _

_"Oh, bring her down, will you?" Xenophilius asked, "So she can meet the guests. It is only proper! This meeting is about her, after all!"_

_Pandora vanished from the memory as she walked through another doorway. Xenophilius walked over to the front door and opened it._

_"James! Lily!" Xenophilius said, "It is so good to see you! Oh, and you have guests!"_

Hermione heard Harry gasp softly at the sound of his parents' names. She watched as James and Lily Potter walked into the house. Just like Pandora and Xenophilius, they looked quite real. Lily was carrying a baby carrier with her. Little cooing sounds were heard, and Hermione realized that she was hearing baby Harry. Then her eyes traveled to the other pair of people walking into the room.

She gasped audibly, as did several others when she saw who the two figures were. Three, if you included the toddler the woman carrying.

_"Xeno, I hope you don't mind we brought guests," James Potter said, "Let me introduce you to a couple Muggles I recently ran into... long story. Turns out their daughter is one of us. Xenophilius Lovegood, this is Daniel and Emma Granger, and their young daughter, Hermione."_

* * *

**Dun-Dun-Dun! I told you. Nasty cliffhanger! -evil cackles-**

**There were a few clues to this coming if you want to go back and look. For example, Xenophilius REALLY wanting to meet the Grangers. Also, Harry and Hermione's very first conversation with Luna. Read that part closely. I'll explain it more next chapter after more is revealed.**

**Next chapter: You know what. I'm not even going to give you a preview. I'm not exactly sure how I could summarize what is about to happen!**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	27. A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Chapter 27  
A Trip Down Memory Lane**

**Author's Note: For those of you read the previous chapter before I changed a certain fact, the date of the meeting in the Pensieve has been changed to a couple days after Harry's first birthday, which supports something that was said earlier in the story. It was fixed in the last chapter. Concerning the younger children in the memory: Luna is five months old, Harry is a year old, and Hermione is 22 months or so.**

**This chapter begins a couple moments before the prior chapter ended.**

**Formatting Note: Early apologies if there are any formatting issues. With all the italics in this chapter, there might be some. I'll try to fix them if they show up.**

* * *

**Sunday, June 23rd, 1994**

Harry Potter watched with misty eyes as the memory of his parents stepped into the house. Xenophilius had said this had taken place just a couple days after his first birthday. Which meant his parents would only be alive for another four months. They would never look different than they did at that moment. Harry studied his parents, wanting to move closer, but not wanting to interfere with the memory. His beautiful mother was carrying a baby carriage with one hand. Harry could not see inside it, but he could hear someone – and he realized it was _him as a baby – _cooing and babbling.

Behind Harry's parents, two more people entered the house. The young woman was holding what appeared to be a young girl against her. Harry's eyes widened as he realized they were also very familiar. But it was impossible!

_"Xeno, I hope you don't mind we brought guests," James Potter said, "Let me introduce you to a couple Muggles I recently ran into... long story. Turns out their daughter is one of us. Xenophilius Lovegood, this is Daniel and Emma Granger, and their young daughter, Hermione."_

"What?!" Hermione gasped, beside Harry, "Mum? Dad?"

"What is this?" Dan asked, almost demanding, "What's going on?!"

"I think this is a good time to pause the memory," Xenophilius said.

The figures near the door became frozen in time.

"Mr. Lovegood – Xenophilius – what is going on?" Emma asked, "That... that is us! That's Hermione, she must be nearly two years old."

"You don't remember any of this?" Xenophilius asked.

"No!" Dan said, "I think we would have remembered meeting Harry's parents and you. Remembered being here. No offense meant, but you have a home that wouldn't be forgotten easily."

"Ah, it is as I feared then all these years," Xenophilius said, with a sigh. "This isn't the only time we met each other. But that was also a long time ago, and to you, I was a complete stranger! It was the first week of November of that same year. A few days after James and Lily were tragically murdered. Pandora was heartbroken. She and Lily were best friends, you see. One day she wonders if Dan and Emma – the two of you - knew about what happened to James and Lily. So, we went and visited you at your place of business. We were told where you worked, you see. Is it still the dentistry in Crawley? Lovely place."

"Yes, it is," Emma said, "We've owned it -"

"Since before Hermione was born," Xenophilius said, "I remember. But, you see... when we found you, you didn't know who we were. I knew at that moment... and it has been my theory all these years... that somehow your memories had been modified. To the point where you didn't know me, my wife and daughter, nor did you know the Potters. Nor did you know your daughter was a witch! As you'll soon see as we continue this memory, all of this was something you had knowledge about. James and Lily explain it better."

"So... so someone modified my parents' memories?" Hermione asked.

"Modified, yes, that is important," Xenophilius said, "It is unknown if they modified yours as well. But that can be easily answered. Dan, Emma, around the end of 1981, and on, when Hermione was young, did she ever mention Harry's name?"

"Now that you mention it," Emma said, "She did when she was young. We thought it was an imaginary friend. After a while she stopped. She never brought him up again through her childhood."

"Then your memory wasn't modified, Hermione," Xenophilius said, "Whoever was responsible for doing this must have decided a child's memory was too fragile to permanently remember something like all of this. I say modified and not Obliviation. Thankfully, memory modification, even long-term, is easily reversible, and can be accomplished by Healers. Recent discovery, in the past few years. We can discuss such things soon. But let's continue on with the memory. A lot of things are explained. The surprises aren't over yet. And I'm sure more of your questions will be answered."

Xenophilius tapped the Pensieve, and figures near the door began to move again.

_"Any friend of James and Lily's are friends of the Lovegoods," Xenophilius said, shaking Dan's hand, _"_You have an adorable daughter."_

_"You'll have to excuse her," Lily said, "Hermione's a little scared at the moment. She just experienced her first bout of Apparation. Especially hard on toddlers, worse their first time."_

"_Oh, nothing a little milk can't cure!" Pandora said, as she returned to the room, carrying a small baby in her arms._

_"There's my beautiful goddaughter!" Lily said._

Harry's eyes widened as he watched his mother walk over to Pandora and coo over Luna. Lily was Luna's Godmother?

_"And her equally beautiful mother," Lily said, hugging Pandora._

_"Hawwy!" little Hermione said from her place against her mother._

_Lily giggled. "I think Hermione feels better now. Pandora, you don't happen to have a play-pen that Harry and Hermione can play in? Harry's been crawling all over the place, and he is squirming in his carriage right now. He wants out. I think he wants to play with Hermione."_

_The young Xenophilius whipped out his wand and twirled it in a complicated pattern. A large play-pen appeared in the center of the floor._

As his mother set the carriage on the ground, Harry and everyone got their first look at little Harry in the memory as Lily picked him up.

"Oh, you were so cute!" Hermione said, giggling.

"I had all but forgotten how cute your godson was when he was a baby," Tonks said to Sirius.

"That's my little pup," Sirius said.

Harry smiled, his cheeks warming up, as he watched his mother place him in the play-pen on the ground.

_Emma walked over and placed little Hermione in the play-pen and she toddled straight over to Harry. The adults, Pandora with her infant daughter, sat down on the various couches and chairs. They watched the sweet little scene of the young children playing._

_"Look at them," Pandora said, "She absolutely adores him."_

_"She does," Emma said, "Can hardly split them apart when they're together. She misses him when they're apart."_

_"When did you guys meet?" Pandora asked._

_"Oh, now that is a long story," James said, "Wasn't exactly a happy meeting at first."_

_"We didn't exactly have the best introduction of wizards, James," Dan said._

_"True," James conceded. "How about you start with the story, and I'll join in soon?"_

_Dan wrapped an arm around Emma as they nestled in on the couch they were sitting on._

_"It was in early April of this year," Dan began, "Ever since Hermione was born, Emma and I had been trading weeks or months at the Dentistry we own in Crawley. It was my week to work. I was just getting home. I stepped out of our car, and all of a sudden, I hear Emma screaming. As I hurried into the house, I heard a great commotion in the sitting room, and I heard a male voice yelling words – James later informs me they were incantations. Curses. When I arrive, Emma is hiding behind our sofa. The man is pointing a wooden stick at her – I later discover it is a wand. His back was turned to me. So I reached into my pocket for my handy pocket-knife, flipped it open and threw it at him. I hit my target, as I usually do, which just so happened to be deep in his back. That was my favorite pocket-knife. Tough loss. Then... he's gone. Vanished into thin air right in front of me."_

_"Automatic Portkey," James explained. "The attacker was dying, but he was still able to escape because of that charm."_

_"I went to Emma," Dan said, looking at his wife, "She's shaking and shivering. But she is coherent. Wants to know where Hermione is. I... I left her in the room and hurried to Hermione's nursery. She was standing in her crib, afraid, and crying. And I couldn't help but notice... her stuffed animals are floating in mid-air all over the place. Then... I hear Emma screaming. I hurry back downstairs and there are two more people, each with wooden sticks. It is James here, and his friend Sirius Black."_

Harry glanced at Sirius, whose eyes had gone wide as saucers.

_"I suppose I should cut in," James said, "As you know, Xenophilius, Pandora... Sirius and I – we're Aurors. We were on duty that day. We were in the office when we get a memo that someone used an Unforgivable Curse. There is a Taboo on them. Bagnold placed it. The memo, as they usually do, turned into a Portkey, and took us straight to the location: the Granger House. We hurry into the house, and find Emma in the sitting room and the room in shambles. She's showing obvious signs of minor Cruciatus exposure and repeating 'Hermione' over and over. Then she sees us and screams. Now, at first, we thought this was explicitly a Muggle house, so Sirius and I – we're in a bind. What do we do? How do we even begin to explain who were are? We didn't look like Muggle authorities!"_

_"For professionals, you were very... unprofessional," Lily said, giggling._

_James smiled. "Sirius tells me we're not alone and we see Dan coming down the stairs. I realize this is the woman's husband, and I ask him about a 'Hermione'. He demands that I tell him who we are. We try to say we are authorities of some kind. Dan doesn't believe us at first. Said someone with a 'stick' like ours attacked his wife. That he buried a knife in the guy's back and the guy disappeared. I figure this couple is going to be Obliviated anyway in an hour or so, so I say... that person disappeared because of magic. I thought Dan here would yell at me. Instead he says..."_

_"Magic?" Dan said, "Is that what my daughter is doing in her room? Because if not, then I am going insane."_

_James, Lily, Emma, Pandora and Xenophilius laughed._

_"Sirius and I – we're looking at each other and we're like... this changes everything!" James said, grinning, "Sirius offers to help Emma, while Dan takes me up to Hermione's nursery. Sure enough, her stuffed animals are levitating. Hermione was very emotional so it wasn't surprising. I've seen it before with Harry, of course. Magic showing even at their age when they are emotional. I realize... this is a Muggle family with a Muggleborn daughter. Sirius and I go into Auror mode, taking down information about this attacker. Then I do my best to basically come up with the 'magic is real, but don't tell anyone.' explanation. I invite Dan and Emma to dinner with me and my wife. I tell them my wife is in Hermione's position. A Muggleborn. I figured Lily could explain it better than me."_

_"Left me with the hard work," Lily said, rolling her eyes._

_"Dan and I didn't get out much," Emma said. "When James told me he had a son, I thought it'd be nice if for Hermione to have a new friend, even if Harry was not even a year old. So we invite the Potters to our house and we had dinner and they discussed everything and our children got to meet. All I know is Hermione and Harry must have gotten on as well as their parents did, because Hermione – who was just learning to speak – found a favorite word. She said 'Hawwy' before she said 'Ma' or 'Da'."_

Harry looked at Hermione who blushed red. Tonks snickered nearby.

_"A couple days after the attack," James said, "the criminal was found. We discovered he was a low-level Death Eater. A rookie just out of Hogwarts. We went to school with him, he was a few years under us. Saw him get Sorted. Probably jeered him when he was sorted into Slytherin."_

_James sighed and shook his head._

_"I'd say he was a recruit and attacking Emma was his initiation." he continued, "Death Eaters are known to do that. He was found in an alley in London, dead with a knife buried in his back. This left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Dan and Emma could be targets, especially if it was discovered their daughter is Muggleborn. Voldemort and his Death Eaters are targeting Muggleborn. So, Sirius and I put protective enchantments around the Granger residence. However, while it isn't illegal, per say, Sirius and I could get in trouble for it, simply because we have no familial or close connection to the Grangers other than friendship. For weeks I was trying to figure out how to get around that. A loophole if you will. Then I realized. It would be completely legal if the Grangers did have close connections to us. Which is why they're here with us today."_

_"I see," Pandora said, "You want to place Harry and Hermione in a Betrothal Contract, just as you do with Luna."_

Hermione gasped. Harry's eyes widened as he looked at his parents. Was that his parents' plan?

_"Since Hermione is Muggleborn," James said, "Betrothing her to Harry, making her his intended, would make her a future member of the House of Potter. This would put Hermione and her parents under the protection of the House of Potter, making it legal to protect them and their home with magic, even though they are Muggles."_

_"The problem is," Lily said, "Betrothals have not been used, outside of very special occasions, in the Muggle world for a long time. So Dan and Emma are a little wary. We thought letting them come with us today would help them see it is perfectly normal."_

_"Yes, but I am to understand that Harry will already be in a Contract with Luna?" Emma said, "If he's already Contracted -"_

_James smiled. "I suppose we have been a little lax in details. Polygamy is legal in the wizarding world. I could have had an additional wife with Lily, because I was Betrothed myself. But my Betrothed was murdered in an attack on Diagon Alley the summer after we left Hogwarts."_

_James' lips quivered and Lily comforted him. It was obviously still a rough topic for him._

_"Luna will not be Harry's only Betrothed," Lily said, "We've told you about Sirius' fiancee – and Betrothed – Amelia Bones. Her brother and his wife is very close to agreeing to Betroth their daughter, Susan, to Harry."_

_"And Castor Greengrass is also getting desperate," James said, "Lucius Malfoy wants to Betroth his son to Castor's daughter, Daphne, and Castor is trying to find a way out of it. I am going to write a letter to him soon."_

_"That would be three wives," Emma said, "Four if Hermione...?"_

_"Yes," James said, "Xenophilius here, the Bones, and Greengrass families, they're all a part of a political alliance my father founded, and I'm now the leader of. So while Betrothing Harry to Hermione would be mostly for your family's protection, their goal is to ensure political integrity in future generations. Technically, these contracts are Betrothals to the Potter House. For example, if Lily and I have more children, Harry could opt to give one or more contracts to any brothers, if he doesn't get along with any of the girls."_

_"But we're planning to raise the children together," Lily said, "So they can grow up as friends then eventually more."  
__  
_The memory suddenly paused.

"Unfortunately, the memory ends there," Xenophilius said, "They only last for so long. This Pensieve is old and the runes often need recharging after a viewing. I thought we'd at least see the Betrothal meeting. Ah, well. Anyway, James, Lily, Pandora and I proceeded to pen our Contract for Harry and Luna, which we will discuss over dinner."

"Did Emma and I make a decision that evening?" Dan asked, "About... betrothing my daughter to Harry?"

"No," Xenophilius said, shaking his head, "I remember that you had wanted to think on it more. James and Lily never told us whether such a contract had been penned."

"Well, there's only one thing to do," Sirius said, "We need to heal your memories, Dan, Emma. And mine as well."

"Sirius?" Harry asked.

"Obviously my memories were modified, Harry," Sirius said, "You heard your father. I was there after Dan and Emma had been attacked. It is why I was so familiar with their house, that neighborhood. I knew Dan and Emma back then. Apparently Amelia – _oh, no. Amy!"_

"You think Amelia had her memories modified?" Tonks asked.

"I don't know," Sirius said, "Dan and Emma might have never met her, only heard of her."

"Who took our memories away?" Dan asked.

"The same person who wanted to keep Hermione away from me," Harry said, "Albus Dumbledore. I'm sure of it. This explains why you were his target from the start, Hermione. Whether or not we're Betrothed, he knew our families knew each other, that _we _knew each other for a few months when we were little. Somehow he knows, and somehow he discovered all this. He disapproved. He didn't want me – the Boy-Who-Lived – to have a Muggleborn as my intended."

"_If_ we're Betrothed," Hermione said.

"I have a feeling we agreed in the end, sweetheart," Emma said, "Your father would have wanted to protect us. Magical protective enchantments – being protected by powerful magic like that of House Potter – well, that would be something we'd want to be a part of if we were in danger."

"Well, if so, then those protections ended long ago," Sirius said, "I'd have recognized them."

"I think my Signet ring would have recognized them too," Harry said, glancing at his family ring.

"Right," Sirius said, I'll contact Amelia as soon as we leave here. She has a Healer friend in St. Mungo's. She could discreetly get the correct potions to heal your memories. You're Muggles... the Ministry may disapprove of memory retrieval. But they don't need to know, and it doesn't matter anyway. This is too important. I trust Amelia with my life. She wouldn't tell them about it."

At that moment, the memory faded, and everyone from the memory disappeared. It left everyone still there feeling very alone.

"Dinner's ready," Xenophilius said, "Luna, dear, is the table set?"

"Yes, Daddy," Luna said.

"Show everyone to the dining room, my love," Xenophilius said, "Dinner will be served shortly."

Everyone was quiet as they followed Luna through the house and into the dining room, which took up a quarter of the bottom floor – the kitchen took up the other quarter. Their minds were on what they had just witnessed. Harry's mind was on his parents.

His parents seemed so real. Like he could reach out and touch them. He had watched them during their conversation. When his parents weren't talking, they had been watching little him and Hermione playing in the play-pen. He could see the love they had for him. And for each other. The way they were so close to each other on the couch, holding each other. He would never doubt their love for each other again. He hoped he could replicate his parents' love with Hermione and his future wives.

That brought another thought to his mind. He could be Betrothed to Hermione. Sure, he knew marriage between then was quite likely in the future, but the fact they might have been intended all this time was something to think about! Damn Dumbledore's interference. He could have grown up knowing the Grangers.

"Why weren't Dan and Emma in my parents' Will?" Harry thought out loud, as he sat at the table next to Hermione – a seat had been left open on his other side, likely for Luna who had made her way to the kitchen after showing the guests to the dining room.

"What's that, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Why weren't Dan and Emma listed as Guardians in my parents' Will?" Harry asked.

"It is possible they were considered," Sirius said, "But that would have made them targets if it was discovered."

"I bet that is how Dumbledore found you, Daddy, Mum," Hermione said, "He was the witness for James and Lily's Will. They must have discussed it in his presence, adding you to their Will as guardians."

"Perhaps he persuaded them not to," Sirius said, "Simply because you're Muggles."

"So if Dumbledore modified our memories," Dan said, "When did it happen?"

"Likely between James and Lily's deaths and the time Xenophilius met you at your dentistry," Sirius said, "Was your dentistry listed?"

"Yes," Dan said.

"Then that is how he found you," Sirius said. "Damn it. I know how he got me. I was in the Ministry cells after my arrest for hours. He could have modified my memory then."

"Why did he only modify your memories of the Grangers?" Tonks asked. "He could have done so much more damage."

"Well," Sirius said, "He must have known anything that was wiped from my memory existing about my time in the wizarding world, I could have easily discovered otherwise. He simply wanted knowledge of the Grangers wiped."

"So why didn't he do a total Obliviation of you and my parents?" Hermione asked.

"Too dangerous, too risky," Sirius said, "He must have known you were a Muggleborn. He was likely afraid Obliviation would be discovered easier than memory modification. Besides, with memory modification, he could dissect specific memories. Make us forget and remember specific things. Dan and Emma certainly would find it strange if they had large parts of their memory gone. He simply replaced it. Obliviation wouldn't do that."

"I can understand that," Hermione said.

Xenophilius and Luna came in, carrying pots and pans, while others were floating behind them. Soon, all the various food was set on the table, and Xenophilius and Luna had taken their seats – Luna, on Harry's left side.

"So what made you and your wife agree to Betroth Harry to your daughter in the first place?" Emma asked Xenophilius as dinner began.

"Do you recall in the memory when James discussed the Greengrasses?" Xenophilius asked.

"They were involved with someone named... Malfoy?" Dan asked.

"Yes," Xenophilius said, "I can see why Lord Greengrass was quite worried back then. He would not want his daughter Betrothed to someone like the son of Lucius Malfoy."

"He didn't approve?" Emma asked.

"Oh, I'm sure that was an issue," Sirius cut in, "But likely it wasn't the main issue. James referenced the issue a bit. For example, Betrothing Hermione to Harry would make you affiliated with House Potter. That is a good thing. House Potter is one of the greatest families in British wizarding society. Then there is the opposite end of the beanpole. The Malfoys and anyone affiliated with them. The wrong sort, if you will. If you're Betrothed to someone in a House, you're automatically affiliated to that House and their reputation. Sure, in pureblood society, Malfoy is a respectable name. But believe me, that doesn't make them good. Far from it."

"A name like Malfoy, how could it?" Emma asked, "The name literally translates to 'bad faith'."

"So, to answer your original question, Emma," Xenophilius said, "Pandora and I were afraid we'd get offers of the wrong sort for my daughter. When James Potter made the offer, I immediately accepted. One, because my House, even though it is Minor, is a part of an Alliance with the Potters. Second because the Potters are friends. The Lovegoods and Potters go way back. I couldn't pass it up. Besides, I knew there wasn't anyone better for my daughter than Harry. The son of James and Lily Potter, two wonderful people. I knew Harry would be just like them. And I was right."

Harry smiled. He was quite surprised with Xenophilius. The man actually sounded so unlike himself, or unlike how Harry had known the man. He was quite different than how Harry had known him before.

"The fact that the Potters are a part of the same bloodline as heroes of yours wasn't too bad either," Harry said.

Xenophilius smiled. "You are correct, Lord Potter. I was well aware that the Potters are related to the legendary Peverell family. The thought that my grandchildren would be of the same bloodline was not something I would easily pass up."

Harry smiled. That was the Xenophilius he knew.

"So," he said, "exactly what did you and my parents agree to when you penned the contract?"

Sirius laughed. "Kid, you're making me feel useless. You know exactly how to get into the business part of the discussion without my help."

"Hermione helped me with the proper terms and discussion back when we met with Amelia about Susan," Harry said. "But I'm sure you could help if I am confused about anything, or if I need help to make some decisions. You've done this before with Amelia, of course."

"Indeed," Sirius said.

Harry smiled and looked back at Xenophilius. Xenophilius wiped his mouth with his napkin and cleared his throat.

"Well, I suppose I should mention that such a meeting like this was not expected until you turned seventeen," he said, "James had a clear picture in his head. Final arrangements would be made on or around your seventeenth birthday. Though you and my daughter are a year a part at Hogwarts, the contract would be finalized, and you would officially be engaged even as students. Usually, a wedding wouldn't take place until the summer after Luna finished Hogwarts. However, since you are Betrothed to two, possibly three, other girls as well – some things could change. If you were to say... have a joint wedding where you marry all your brides on the same day, then I'd be open to Luna being a part of it, even if she was still a student. Married students are not strangers at Hogwarts. There are married Quarters."

"The Lord and Lady Quarters," Harry said, "Funny enough, I'm already living there while at Hogwarts. I have already thought about inviting my Betrothed to join me, mostly for their protection and so we can get to know each other."

Xenophilius smiled. "I think I would be agreeable to that. Lord Potter, do you know what a Line Continuance Option is?"

"Yes," Harry said, "It assures that if a witch is the last of her name, her House and Name would live on through marriage, and through her children."

"Exactly, Lord Potter, exactly!" Xenophilius said, "It was originally agreed upon that Luna would keep her name _and _take yours as she would also be a part of your House. Her – your children with her would have the Lovegood name, and yours as well, but Lovegood first and foremost. And if the Lovegood house were to ascend, you would be Regent Lord until my death, and Lord afterward until any Lovegood sons of yours reached majority. Luna, as Lovegood blood, would represent the Lovegood House politically as Lady in my stead."

Harry glanced at Sirius, and he made a thumbs-up motion.

"I can agree to all of that," Harry said.

"Excellent!" Xenophilius said. "Let's see. Line Continuance, check. Marriage, not until husband-to-be is seventeen. Children! I assume you want children."

"A Quidditch team full of them at least," Harry said, chuckling.

Most of those seated around the table were smiling or grinning.

"I think with how many wives you'll have, that is more than likely, kid," Sirius said.

"The common agreement," Xenophilius said, "is at least one child before the bride-to-be in question, Luna, is twenty-one. However, Line Continuance usually requires a son. So... if you have a son with her, that would satisfy the contract in my opinion."

"I guess I can agree to that," Harry said.

Xenophilius smiled. "I can understand how some of this can be awkward for you at the moment. Truly, you have nothing to worry about until you turn seventeen. Officially, Luna is your Betrothed. Unofficially, I'd be happy to see you as friends or best friends until the day she walks down the aisle. If it evolves into more before that wonderful event, then excellent. You're teenagers, Lord Potter. It is time to be teenagers. Leave the other stuff until you're of age."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said. "Is there anything I must sign?"

"Yes, and that can be done after dinner," Xenophilius said, "Now that business is done, other conversation can be had."

"Your wife – Luna's mother – was a beautiful woman," Emma said, "I am so sorry she is no longer with us. I will be happy to have those memories back, if only so I could remember."

"Yes," Xenophilius said, "Pandora was a beautiful soul. She was one of Lily's best friends since Hogwarts, along with Alice Longbottom and Amelia Bones."

"And a few other girls," Sirius said, "The Marauders were a force to be reckoned with, but that group of witches – well, we were just lucky they hadn't formed a coven or we would have been outmatched."

"When Lily was pregnant with Harry, she was having trouble deciding which of her best friends should be godmother," Xenophilius continued. "Be it Pandora, Amelia or Alice. By ironic coincidence, she picked the one not related to one of her son's future Betrothed. She picked Alice. But Pandora, along with Amelia, were considered unofficial godmothers. But Pandora had no qualms about who would be Luna's godmother. She immediately picked Lily."

"When Pandora and I met, she was fifteen, and I was out of Hogwarts already," Xenophilius said, "We had met at Loch Ness in Scotland. Oh, we might have seen each other whilst at Hogwarts, of course, but we truly met at Loch Ness. She was sitting at the edge of a dock, staring out at the Loch, and I approached her. Bravest thing I've ever done. I asked her, what was a beautiful young lady doing alone out there? She replied... 'I am waiting for Nessie, you see. We're good friends.' And my reply was 'Oh... she never talks about you. I might have to scold her for that!'"

"And that is how Mummy and Daddy fell in love," Luna said, grinning.

"Nessie?" Dan asked, "The mythological sea serpent?"

"Oh, she isn't a myth," Luna said, "She is very real. She just rarely lets Muggles see her. Mummy and Daddy introduced her to me many years ago."

Dan looked surprised, and Emma looked amused, as if she had always known. Dinner went on, as did the conversation. Xenophilius and Luna talked more about their family, as well as their magazine, discussing ideas for future articles. Xenophilius, Sirius and even Tonks entertained with stories of James and Lily.

It was past eight-o-clock in the evening when Harry, Hermione and others decided it was time to leave. Harry, Xenophilius, Luna, and even Sirius – as godfather, even though Harry was Emancipated – signed the Betrothal Contract so that it was official. Harry and Luna were officially Betrothed. After promises that Harry and Hermione would write to Luna soon, everyone said their farewells. Sirius took Dan and Emma's hands, while Tonks took Harry and Hermione's, and they Apparated back to the Granger House.

"I'm going to write a letter to Amelia," Sirius said, "Are you available tomorrow?"

"We'll be here," Dan said, nodding.

"I'll see if Amelia can get those memory retrieval cures and she and I can bring them by sometime tomorrow," Sirius said, "We can restore your memories and answer some questions we all must have."

"Thank you, Sirius," Dan said, "It seems as if you've been a lot of help to my family over the years."

"You're good people," Sirius said, "The type of family I would have loved to grow up in. James and Lily picked some good people to be friends with, but I'm not in the least surprised." He turned to Harry. "Kid, you impressed me tonight, doing your part with the Betrothal. Are you sure you need me on Wednesday?"

The previous evening, Harry had written to the Greengrasses, and said he would be available every evening the following week, except Sunday. A letter returned from Lord Greengrass earlier that day inviting him, Hermione, Tonks and Sirius – obviously, Daphne had a part in inviting Hermione and Tonks – Wednesday evening to the Greengrass Manor for dinner."

"If only to satisfy Lord Greengrass who wants an adult on both sides," Harry said.

"Alright," Sirius said, "Maybe this time I'll convince Remus to come. Well, I better go. Remus will want to hear about this and I have to contact Amelia. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright," Harry said.

He embraced Sirius, who hugged him back. After hugging Tonks and shaking Dan's hand, he then left the house.

"Daddy, Mum," Hermione said, when Sirius left, "Would you be okay with it? If it turned out that Harry and I were Betrothed?"

"It might take some time to get used to," Dan said, "But I say that now. Who knows what will happen after our memories are restored. I could be a whole new person."

"Dan," Emma said, frowning, "I know what you're thinking."

"I never killed a person in my army days," Dan said, "and now it appears, I am responsible for taking a young man's life. Barely older than either of you. Younger than Tonks."

"You were defending Mum," Hermione said.

"I am well aware," Dan said, "And I would do it again. But to learn I am capable of something like that. It changes a person, sweetheart."

Dan sighed and turned and walked over to the door that led into the basement.

"I always wondered what happened to that pocket-knife," he said, "Now I know."

Then he made his way through the door and into the basement, and shut the door behind him.

"Oh, Daddy," Hermione said, frowning.

"He'll be alright, sweetheart," Emma said, "He just needs some time to himself. I better put on some coffee. He'll need it. All the alcohol is downstairs. Your father doesn't drink too much, but... well..."

She sighed and made her way toward the kitchen. Before Harry knew it, Hermione had engulfed him in a hug. He thought he could hear her whimpering against him. Then he could hear her crying softly.

"I'll just leave you two alone," Tonks said, then made her way into the sitting room.

Harry stood there, holding Hermione, as she cried against him. After a minute, she gave one last sniffle, then backed away. She looked at him and smiled.

"I love you, Hawwy," she said, with a grin.

Harry laughed. "Please don't let that become a nickname. I love you too, by the way."

Hermione smiled and kissed him deeply. There they remained for a while, hoping her parents didn't return soon.

* * *

**Chapter finished. Whew, so much happened this chapter!**

**Next chapter: Sirius and Amelia visit the Granger House. Several flashbacks ensue as memories return! The mystery of the possible fourth Contract is answered.**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	28. Memory Lane Redux, Part 1

**Chapter 28  
Memory Lane Redux, Part 1**

**Author's Note: The inevitable has come. My story (not to toot my own horn) has reached that level of popularity where the trolls have come out of their cave. Mean, jealous trolls who don't like how my story is so popular that it is somehow causing readers to ignore their stories that they believe are oh-so better. –rolls eyes-**

**Not all of them though. One particular troll – as a guest - tried to tell me on the very first chapter (so obviously they didn't read the story), that this isn't a Harry/Hermione story, it is Harry/Multi, so I should change the labeled relationship. While true, if they had read the story, they would see that the story is 80% Harry/Hermione and the other 20% Harry/Multi – at least at the moment. To me this is the worst kind of troll – reviewing without reading my story, obviously jealous of the popularity.**

**All troll reviews will be immediately ignored by me and possibly reported. Those of which are guest reviews denied.**

**Sorry for my mini-rant. Thanks to those of you who enjoy my story and make it so popular. I am quite humbled by the response!**

**Yes, this is yet another Part 1 of 2 chapters combining scenes. If I kept it one chapter it would be very long.**

**This first scene in this story came in response to a reviewer believing that Harry should feel like he was manipulated by his parents. Thank you to that reviewer. It resulted in a beautiful scene between our hero and heroine. Enjoy!**

**Warning: Language, Violence**

* * *

**Monday, June 24****th****, 1994**

_Bzzt. Bzzt. Bzzt._

Hermione Granger groaned and smacked her alarm clock silencing it. It was six-o-clock in the morning and for the first time since she had begun her early-morning regiment of jogging with Harry and Tonks, she felt it was way too early to get up.

She yawned and sat up in bed, stretching in order to wake up her body and mind that only wished to snuggle back into her bed and fall asleep. It didn't help that she hadn't gotten to sleep until nearly midnight the previous evening. Harry had known she was quite emotional because her father had been so upset about something he had learned about himself. So he suggested that they practice Occlumency.

So, Hermione and Harry had been in her room late into the evening, relaxed on the bed, meditating and clearing their mind. At about eleven-thirty that night, they were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. It was Hermione's mother. They embarrassingly explained they were practicing Occlumency. Emma had believed them, and merely said it was time for bed, as well as saying they had been lucky her father hadn't been the one to find them.

She slowly changed into her exercise outfit, then made her way to Harry's room to see if he was ready. He was sitting in his bed, relaxed on his bed and staring forward at nothing. In her cage, Hedwig was awake and staring at her owner. Hermione thought she looked concerned.

"Are you okay, Harry?" Hermione asked, standing in the doorway.

"I'm... conflicted," Harry said.

Hermione walked into the room, mindful to keep the bedroom door open, and sat on the end of the bed.

"Conflicted about what?" she asked.

"Dumbledore's been manipulating me all these years, right?" Harry asked, "That is what you would call it. Manipulation?"

"Definitely," Hermione said, "He's definitely been manipulating you."

"So what were my parents doing?" Harry asked. "They put me in three – maybe four – Betrothal Contracts, which basically orders me to marry these girls without choice. No offense, if you're one of those girls, by the way. In order to make sure that I come to like and maybe love these girls, my parents plan to have us all grow up together so we're familiar with each other. So that I became more accustomed to the idea. It never happened because of obvious reasons, but that was their plan. What do you call that?"

Hermione bit her lip thoughtfully. It was a very good question. Something that made her truly think. She loved this type of problem-solving. The fact that it was coming from Harry was rather surprising.

"Nurturing," Hermione said, after a full minute of thought.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Your parents were nurturing you," Hermione said, "Like all parents do. Technically, it is in the same category as manipulation – a cousin, perhaps – but there are different ways of nurturing, both good and bad. The bad kind is how Sirius' parents nurtured him. Sirius and his brother grew up being nurtured to follow the Dark Arts. Sirius broke away from it. Regulus did not until it was too late. Draco Malfoy was nurtured by his father to be selfish, pompous, racist and hate anyone and anything who he considered lower than him.

"Then there is Augusta Longbottom and Molly Weasley. Augusta's nurturing wasn't manipulation, but in some ways it was worse than the Malfoys and Blacks. She expected her grandson to be a clone of her son. When he didn't, she believed him to be a squib and therefore nurtured him as one. Molly Weasley might have done both, nurturing and manipulating. She may have manipulated her daughter, training her so that one day she would be the future Lady Potter. But she also nurtured her children, both negatively and positively. Then there are your parents. They nurtured you in a positive way. Or... that was their eventual plan."

"Was it _really_ positive?" Harry asked.

"Let's consider your father," Hermione said, "He was a pureblood, born in a family which bore and married purebloods for generations. Born in a society where purebloods – at least those who are considered respectable – are looked upon as highborn. His father was a very political man, likely raised in politics like his own son, your father, would be.

"We know James was Betrothed, but that he had free reign in his choice of romantic partners, because of how much he fancied your mother during most of his years at Hogwarts. He was taken after Lily. He knew he would be marrying another woman, and still he had set his sights on your mother. There was likely more to how he was raised, but those are the two most important when it comes to you – political integrity, and the Betrothal Contracts. In this case, they combined. James likely didn't care much for his father's Alliance until his father passed away. Then he likely took it to heart everything his father had taught him.

"It is the definition of nurture to raise one's children as they had been raised. James wanted his father's Alliance to thrive, so he planned and plotted. As his heir, you were the future of the Alliance. So, of course he was going to raise you to be a part of it. Betrothing you to three pureblood girls, whose Houses were in his Alliance, would ensure that his father's Alliance would live on."

"And you?" Harry asked, "If we really are Betrothed, how was my father nurturing me for with that. You are a Muggleborn."

"It sounds like we were also fast friends from the moment our parents introduced us to each other," Hermione said, grinning, "Best friends right from the start, even as babies and toddlers. Even if we are Betrothed, I think we'll find that your father hoped that the Betrothal wouldn't matter in the long run when it came to the two of us. That we would want each other romantically in the future anyway. Betrothing us to each other was merely so my family would be protected by the House of Potter, nothing to do with us, technically. I think your father would hope that you would fall in love with me before you discovered we were Betrothed. Simply because he fell in love with your mother, who wasn't in a Contract with him. He wanted you to have a choice in at least one of your romantic partners."

"Betrothing me to you doesn't exactly make it a choice," Harry said, "But I can see what you mean. But why would my mother agree to it?"

"She was a Muggleborn growing up in a society where her kind were considered low-class," Hermione said, "She likely never admit it, but she was probably trying to find a way to fit in. Also, she was the Lady Potter. If there was a way to show society that she was more than a blood-type, it would be prudent for her to act like Lady Potter. I'm sure there were other factors. Sirius and Remus might be able to tell you more. I'm just basing it off of what I have felt at times.

"Harry, Dumbledore's manipulations have done obvious harm to you, physically, emotionally and mentally. It has weakened your ability to trust. Harry, I promise you. You were – and are – very much loved. Your parents loved you and cared for you. Yes, they had painted a clear picture on how they wanted to raise you. But that is common with most families. They were not trying to manipulate you, Harry James Potter. You were able to get a really good look at how they acted yesterday. Don't let Albus Dumbledore tarnish the few memories of your parents you have."

Harry nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Hermione. I guess that makes me feel better."

"You are very welcome," Hermione said; she scooted along the bed, over to him, and pecked him on the lips, "Now change into your exercise clothes. I'm sure Tonks is waiting for us."

Harry groaned, and Hermione smiled. She pecked him on the lips again, then stood and walked out of the bedroom.

* * *

Emma Granger was sitting at the dining table, sipping on a cup of coffee, when her husband trudged into the kitchen. She recognized his behavior. He was quite hungover.

"You drank more than you told me about last night, Daniel Granger," Emma scolded, "Usually a cup of coffee after a drinking binge prevents hangovers, at least in your case."

"Sorry, love," Dan grunted.

He filled up his usual mug of coffee and walked over to the table and sat down.

"You're lucky Hermione, Harry and Tonks are out jogging at the moment," Emma said, "They don't need to see you like this. Hermione, especially. She was rather upset last night. She didn't fall asleep until nearly midnight because she was worried about you."

She decided not to tell him about what she had walked into last night in their daughter's room. She knew nothing had happened between Harry and Hermione, but Dan wouldn't have liked seeing Harry laying next to Hermione on her bed, no matter how much he liked the boy.

"I'll apologize to her later," Dan said.

"You haven't drank that much since before Hermione was born, Dan," Emma said.

"Are you sure about that?" Dan asked, raising his eyebrows. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't have had a binge after I threw that pocket-knife in that bastard's back?"

Emma frowned. Her husband had a point. "I suppose we'll find out soon."

"I suppose," Dan grunted.

Emma sighed. She needed to change the subject.

"So," Emma said, "As I told you many years ago, you tend to snore a lot when you sleep off a binge. I was woken up at five-o-clock this morning to you snoring, and couldn't get back to sleep because of it."

"Sorry," Dan said.

"Oh, it was a rather interesting morning, so that is alright," Emma said.

She decided to skip over details of the scene she had walked into that morning. Tonks was asleep on the fold-out couch in the sitting room. Emma had apparently discovered what happened when a Metamorphmagus dreamed. Tonks' hair had been turning every color known to man, switching every few seconds. Emma had clearly heard Tonks moan the name 'Harry'. She wasn't sure what she thought about that, so it was best she simply kept it to herself.

"I was cleaning up the basement, throwing away beer bottles and cans, and stuff," Emma said; she rolled her eyes at Dan's apologetic look, "Then I went over to the section of the basement not reserved for you."

"The storage space," Dan said.

"Where I used to have my little art corner," Emma said, nodding. "I was rummaging through boxes and old paintings I'd done, when I found this..."

She picked up a large painting and placed it on the empty section of table. Dan studied the painting, then his eyes widened and he looked at her.

"This -" Dan said, "That's -"

"Remember when you said you would never forget the Rookery?" Emma asked, "When I first gazed at the house I told Hermione it reminded me of something I might have painted it. Turned out I _did _paint it."

The painting on the table was a pretty accurate representation of the Lovegood's house, also known as the Rookery.

"Remember the tree Luna pointed to as we were leaving?" Emma asked.

"I think she called it a Drooble Plum tree?" Dan asked.

"Dirigible Plum," Emma corrected, and pointed to the same tree in the painting. "Now look at the date. 7 September 1981. I painted this about a month after we first visited the Rookery. Two months, perhaps, before we had our memories modified. Sirius said he thought our house was familiar, even though he thought he'd never been here before. I remembered painting this. Some of our memories survived."

"That's great," Dan said, "What's the point?"

Emma frowned. "Nothing I guess. I suppose I'm just trying to connect the dots. I didn't even think about Hermione's imaginary friend as a little girl until Xenophilius asked if she ever mentioned Harry's name."

"All those years Hermione was doing magic," Dan said, "And we thought something was really wrong with her. When in reality, we learned, then forgot, that she was a witch, all before she turned two years old. Emma, promise me. No matter what changes today, we'll remain the same."

"Oh, darling," Emma said, "Is that what you're worried about? By the end of the day, we'll have memories back of three wonderful people who are no longer with us, and more knowledge about Hermione's world. We might find out we did agree to Betroth our daughter to Harry, but is that truly a bad thing? Do you honestly believe she'll fall out of love with him?"

"No," Dan said, "Which makes me feel great and strange at the same time."

"Aside from that, we'll be the same people," Emma said, "and I will still love you, Daniel Granger. Even more so. Dan, look at me. Even with the full memory of what happened when that man attacked me, I will feel no different toward you. Well, maybe I will – I'll love you even more, if that is possible. Yes, you took a life. But you did it to save me. You're my hero, Daniel Granger. And you have been since before we married."

Daniel smiled. "Couldn't have told me this before I had a binge, could you?"

"Oh, darling, I thought you knew!" Emma said.

"Well," Dan said, "That is what you're here for. To remind me... and kick my arse when I forget."

"Daniel Granger, don't let your daughter catch you talking like that!" Emma scolded.

Dan Granger laughed out loud.

* * *

Three hours later, Dan Granger was once again feeling like himself, at least when it came to him being the normally sober and respectful husband and father his family, friends and clients knew him as. He was sitting at the kitchen table, joined by Emma, writing in his personal planner, going over his future clients at the dentistry, when he and Emma would return to work in one week. He had planned on putting this off until closer to the weekend, but he was trying to pass the time waiting for Sirius Black to arrive.

He had just finished up another successful knife-throwing lesson with Hermione and Harry. Both kids were doing excellent, and he was thrilled to see their progress by the time Saturday came when Harry – and likely Hermione – would be leaving for the summer.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang and Dan heard Tonks' loud voice announce that she would get it. Dan and Emma glanced at each other for a second, shared an encouraging smile, then made their way into the entrance hall. Hermione, Harry and Tonks were currently greeting Sirius, as well as another man and woman when they arrived.

"Good morning, Sirius," Dan said.

"Morning Dan, Emma," Sirius said, "This is my good friend Remus Lupin and my – well – I'm not sure what we are at the moment, so how I introduce her as the lovely Amelia Bones. Remus, Amy, these are Hermione's parents, Dan and Emma."

"Remus is the Defense Professor I wrote to you about this past school year," Hermione said, "The best we've ever had. And Amelia is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

"It is a pleasure to meet the both of you," Dan said, as he and Emma shook the new arrival's hands. "Shall we move into the sitting room, and we can continue?"

It was mutually agreed and everyone made their way into the sitting room. There were not enough seats for everyone, and Harry, Hermione and Tonks ended up sitting together on the floor while the older adults sat in the various chairs and sofas.

"Sirius told me all about what happened last night," Amelia said, "It sounds as if you had quite the evening at the Lovegood house last night."

"You could say that," Dan said.

"So," Amelia said, "it truly sounds as if there has been some crimes of illegal memory removal done against the two of you, Dan, Emma, as well as Sirius. Sirius thought that I, too, may be a victim, but I would have known. I take memory retrieval cures every six months as part of my job, just in case. So I assure you, I have never met either of you face-to-face until today. I may have heard about James and Lily having some Muggle friends, but they had many friends, so I wouldn't have known the difference.

"Sirius also informed me about the assault on you in 1981. So I went to the Ministry's Hall of Records, and searched through the cases in April of 1981. I did find a closed case of an attack on a Muggle residence. Sirius and James Potter were the Aurors listed investigating the case. The culprit had been found two days after the initial attack in central London, with a knife deep in his back."

"Did the Aurors or your department recover the pocket-knife?" Dan asked, "It was a favorite of mine."

"My apologies," Amelia said, "It was reported destroyed soon after the case was closed. We don't keep evidence on hand in closed cases. It wasn't claimed by anyone, so it would have been destroyed."

"That's alright," Dan said, "I'm just glad I finally know what happened to it. What was the culprit's name? How old was he?"

"His name was Sullivan Samuels, aged nineteen," Amelia said, "You don't have to worry about any family trying to get revenge. His father was killed in the war months after the son's death, and mother died of Dragonpox when Sullivan was a small child. He had no siblings, and no other reported family."

"Thanks," Dan said.

"All right," Amelia said, "I met with a good friend of mine who is a Healer today. They are somebody I can trust. They are the personal Healer for my niece whenever she goes in for yearly check-ups and other appointments, so I can say I trust them with my niece's life. They were able to procure three vials of memory retrieval cure for me. It is the same thing I take every six months. It is guaranteed to reverse all memory modifications giving you your original memories. The process requires you to lay down in a comfortable position. Once you drink it, the potion forces you to remember every single thing you have forgotten due to memory modifications enchantments. You will see flashes of visions pass through your mind. There have been reports that one can experience reliving an entire single memory over again instead of flashes."

"That sounds frightening," Hermione said.

"It can be," Amelia said, nodding, "Depending on how many memories you'll regain, the process could take anywhere between a minute up to an hour in most extreme cases."

"Is it dangerous?" Emma asked, concerned.

"To anyone watching you, it will look as if you're seizing up," Amelia said, frowning, "But as long as you are laying down comfortably, you'll be just fine. We'll be here if you're in danger of falling from where ever you are laying. I do suggest only one of you does it at a time, so we only have to focus on one of you. Any questions?"

"I think you summed it up pretty well," Dan said, and Emma nodded in agreement. "I'll be the first to volunteer."

"Are you sure, Dan?" Sirius asked, "I'd be happy to do it first."

"I just want to get this over with," Dan said.

"Alright," Amelia said, "Lay down on the couch in a comfortable position."

Emma pecked Dan on the cheek, then stood up. Dan proceeded to lay down on the couch and rest his head on a throw pillow. Amelia removed a vial from her robes and popped the cork from the top with her wand, then handed the vial to Dan. He studied the concoction's color. It looked like something resembling the color of iced tea. He sniffed it and turned up his nose.

"Does all potions smell horrible?" he commented.

"Unfortunately," Harry muttered, "and they taste just as bad."

"Wizards are insane," Dan muttered, "Medicine is supposed to make you feel better, not puke it back up."

Several in the room chuckled.

"Down the gullet," Dan said.

He chugged the concoction down all at once, as if it was a shot of his favorite whiskey. He gagged at the taste and handed the vial to Amelia, then relaxed and closed his eyes...

_Dan Granger pulled into the driveway of his Crawley home as, over the radio, Paul McCartney finished singing about Yesterday's distant troubles. The deejay came over the radio announcing confirmed locations for community Easter Egg hunts in and around the London area for the following weekend. Dan smiled, fantasizing about coming years when Hermione would be old enough to take part in the egg hunts. He turned off the ignition, and stepped out of the car._

_He started his way up the driveway, thinking about a young girl he had met that afternoon who was informing him about a lost tooth she had given to the tooth fairy. The girl, too, reminded him of Hermione. Everything reminded him of his baby girl these days. She was the light of his life, as was his wife._

_Suddenly, a piercing scream coming from his wife made his heart jump and he raced toward the front door of his house. He noticed only then it was slightly ajar. He was about to call out for his wife when he heard a rough voice of a stranger._

_"Crucio!" the voice snarled, "Don't flee from me, you filthy beast! Have the decency to die, bitch! Reducto!"_

_Dan's eyes widened as he heard the glass of a window breaking. He hurried toward the sitting room and found a man, his back turned to Dan. The man was holding what appeared to be a wooden stick. Out of the corner of his eye, Dan saw his wife's foot sticking out from behind the couch. Dan narrowed his eyes, grabbed his pocket-knife from the back pocket of his jeans, opened it with the flick of his wrist, aimed and let the knife fly with speed. The knife soared through the air and buried itself straight into the back of the man. The man roared in pain and... vanished into thin air!_

_Dan blinked. "What the bloody hell?"_

_"D-Dan?" Emma's voice shook, "Is that you?"_

_Dan regained his senses and ran across the wrecked sitting room. Emma was laying behind the sofa, shaking and shivering as if in the middle of a seizure._

_"You're alright, Emma," Dan said, "He's gone. I took care of it."_

_"Hermione," Emma said, "Hermione."_

_Dan's stomach jumped into his throat. "I'll be right back. I'll make sure she's okay."_

_He left his wife laying on the wooden floor of the sitting room and raced into the entrance hall then up the stairs. He bound toward his daughter's nursery. When he arrived, he found his nineteen-month old daughter standing in her crib and visibly crying. Dan's eyes widened at what he saw. Hermione's stuffed animals were floating around the ceiling. Before he could do anything, he heard his wife screaming again. He turned around and hurried back downstairs. When he arrived, he found two men in the sitting room. Both had wooden sticks in their hands... just like his wife's attacker._

_"James," one of the men said, "We're not alone."_

_"You're fucking right you're not alone," Dan growled, "Who are you? Get away from my wife. I warn you, I am SAS trained, and I will kill you."_

_The messy-haired man with glasses turned and looked at him. He then looked at the other man, this one had curly black hair and a rugged, handsome look._

_"Sir, we're... well... we're law enforcement," the man with glasses said, "We were in the area and heard the commotion. Do you know a 'Hermione'? Your... wife? She mentioned that name. She kept saying it."_

_"Who are you?" Dan repeated._

_"I told you, we're law enforcement," the man in glasses said, "Can you tell us what happened."_

_"I don't know what you are," Dan said, "But you're holding the same kind of – whatever it is – that my wife's attacker was carrying. You could be with him for all I know."_

_"Did you get a description of the man?" the rugged man asked._

_"No," Dan said, "I didn't take the time to look at the man who was attacking my wife. I just threw my pocket-knife, burying it into his back... and … and he vanished into thin air."_

_Both men glanced at each other._

Dan growled, annoyed. "Look, I don't care if you don't believe me."

_"We believe you," the man in glasses said, "Sir, you may not believe me, but the man – he disappeared because of magic."_

_"Magic?" Dan asked, then thought of his daughter, "Is that what my daughter is doing in her room. Because if not, then I am going insane."_

_The two men glanced at each other, both looking surprised._

_"Sir, I promise you on the life of my wife and son I love with all my heart," the man in glasses said, "We are not going to hurt your family. In fact, my partner can help your wife. Can he do that, while you show me exactly what is going on with your daughter?"_

_Dan studied the man for a moment, then he finally nodded. "I'll trust you. One wrong move, and I swear I will snap your necks. I may not have my favorite knife anymore, but I can use my hands."_

_"I believe you," the man in glasses said, "Lead the way. Sirius, check on this man's wife. See if she needs healing, and if you can do anything or if she needs to go to St. Mungo's."_

_"You got it, mate," the man called … Serious?... said._

_Still ever cautious, Dan led the man toward his daughter's room. When they arrived, Hermione was still crying, and the stuffed animals were still floating around the ceiling. Dan walked over to Hermione and picked her up. Hermione sniffled and raised her hands to the ceiling. Her favorite stuffed animal, that of the cartoon deer, Bambi, floated down from the ceiling and into her arms. She grabbed it and hugged it against her. Dan kissed the top of her head then turned to the man._

_The man was looking up at the ceiling with a smile, then looked at Dan and Hermione._

_"I suppose I should introduce myself," the man said, "Name's Potter. James Potter. Sir, please don't take any offense to this. I am one-hundred percent serious. Your daughter is a witch."_

The memory faded, and more memories began to race across his mind. Memories of James Potter. Of James introducing his wife, Lily, and infant son, Harry. Memories of Hermione and Harry meeting for the first time. Memory of Dan and Emma having dinner with James and Lily who explained the wizarding world. A memory of Hermione and Harry nestled up asleep together in Hermione's crib. Memories of the Lovegood residence, the Rookery. Of meeting the Lovegoods. Memory of James and Lily discussing Betrothal Contracts. A memory of Dan and Emma discussing a possible Contract. Memory of Dan and Emma meeting a weird creature he knew was named a Goblin. And finally a memory of an elderly man dressed in purple greeting him at his Dentistry in Crawley... and pointing a wand at him...

Dan gasped out loud and coughed as he opened his eyes.

"Easy, Daniel," Amelia said, "Easy now. You're alright."

Dan sat up and inhaled and exhaled. "I remember. I remember... everything. It is all true, Emma. All of it. James and Lily. Little Harry. Sirius. The Lovegoods."

Dan gulped large breaths.

"Easy, Dan," Amelia said, "Calm down. Let things process. You don't need to talk about it right now. We can wait for your wife and Sirius to get done with their turns."

"Okay," Dan said, nodding, "How long have I been out?"

"Twenty minutes," Emma said, "It was scary at times. You were thrashing there a bit. But sometimes you were smiling and talking to yourself. I... I do believe we heard you use a few swear words."

Dan felt his cheeks grow warm as Hermione, Harry, Tonks and Sirius chuckled.

"I think we can let it slide this time, Daddy," Hermione said, "It looked like it was intense."

"That it was, sweetheart," Dan said.

"Alright," Amelia said, "Who is next?"

Emma cleared her throat and slowly raised her hand.

* * *

**Chapter finished. Sorry for that abrupt ending! I completely didn't expect the first two scenes when I planned this chapter. So I had to split this up.**

**Next chapter: Emma and Sirius' turns at remembering memories. More interesting and surprising flashbacks. Then there are some discussions. And more that I won't spoil.**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	29. Memory Lane Redux, Part 2

**Chapter 29  
Memory Lane Redux, Part 2**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the slight delay. My internet shut off on Saturday morning, and only came on a few minutes before I posted this. I had this chapter finished Saturday afternoon!**

**There may be formatting issues due to italics! I will fix them when I catch them!**

**Warning: Language, Violence**

* * *

**Monday, June 24th, 1994**

Emma Granger took Dan's spot on the couch and laid down. Across the room, Dan was sitting in a recliner recuperating after his trip through his memories. When he caught her looking, he gave her an encouraging smile.

"It will be alright, Em," Dan said, "Easy as pie."

Emma smiled. She looked at Amelia and nodded. "I'm ready."

Amelia handed her a vial of the iced-tea colored concoction. Emma pinched her nose then upended the vial into her mouth and swallowed in one gulp. She gagged at the taste and handed the vial to Amelia. Then she relaxed herself on the couch and closed her eyes...

_She was sitting on the very same couch, reading a book. It was one of those rare moments she had to herself. Her young daughter was asleep in her crib in her nursery. On the coffee table, sat a baby monitor which connected to its twin in Hermione's nursery. Once in a while, Hermione would make cooing sounds in her sleep. Emma liked to think her daughter was dreaming. _

_Emma heard footsteps coming from the entrance hall, and she smiled._

_"Welcome home, love," Emma said, "I thought we would get some take-out tonight. What are you hungry for?"_

_"You, 'love'," a strange voice said, "Only you!"_

_Emma gasped and jumped to her feet. A man was standing in the arched doorway between the sitting room and entrance hall. He was holding a stick in his hand and pointing it at Emma. Emma's motherly instincts kicked in. He likely didn't know about Hermione in her nursery. She needed to keep it that way._

_"Take anything you want and leave," Emma said, "I want no trouble."_

_"Oh, too bad for you," the man said, "Because I do! Crucio!"_

_Before Emma could think of what language that was, she felt intense pain all over her body and she collapsed to the ground. Her fight-or-flight defenses kicked in. She needed to protect her daughter. She needed to survive. Her husband would be home any minute. She fought through the pain and got to her knees, then began to crawl._

_"Oh, you are a feisty one!" the man said, "Maybe I'll play with you a little! You are a hot slut, after all!"_

_In the baby monitor, Emma heard crying. Hermione had woken up. Emma knew she needed to act quick. She started screaming so the man wouldn't hear Hermione crying. She screamed as she made her way behind the couch._

_"Crucio!" the man snarled, "Don't flee from me, you filthy beast! Have the decency to die, bitch! Reducto!"  
__  
__Emma screamed as the glass in the window above her exploded._

The memory faded from Emma's mind, and a new one appeared. A memory of her husband, assuring her that she was safe, her attacker was gone. Then there was a memory of a ruggedly handsome man who said he was serious... or was that his name? The man was waving a wooden stick around her – but the man seemed nice, not mean like her attacker. He had asked her to drink something, assuring her it would help. She felt so much pain that she just wanted medicine, and drank the liquid. The pain subsided.

A memory of a handsome man in glasses. He introduced himself as James Potter. Another memory, James Potter was back, and he was introducing a beautiful woman with auburn-colored hair, his wife named Lily, and their beautiful little boy, Harry. A memory of introducing her nineteen-month old daughter, Hermione to Harry. A memory of James and Lily discussing the wizarding world...

_Emma Granger and Lily Potter walked up the stairs toward Hermione's nursery. Emma, her husband and the two adult Potters had just finished dinner in which they took part in an informative meeting where James and Lily told them about the wizarding world._

_"You said you are Muggleborn?" Emma asked, "Like my daughter? How did your parents react to the wizarding world?"_

_"They took it quite well," Lily said. "But I learned I was a witch before my parents found out. A young boy, a wizard, saw me doing some magic and explained to me that I was a witch. He told me all about the wizarding world. My parents were great about it. My sister on the other hand... now that is a different story."_

_Emma could tell that Lily's sister was a sore subject, so she decided not to bring it up._

_"But I was well into my childhood before I learned about who I really was," Lily said, "Hermione can grow up knowing she's a witch. That can be really good for her."_

_"Maybe she can grow up with Harry," Emma said, "They can have little play-dates."_

_"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Lily said._

_"Do wizarding children go to Muggle primary schools?" Emma asked._

_"Not very many," Lily said, "But I am planning on enrolling Harry when he is old enough. Perhaps he and Hermione can be in the same school."_

_"That would be nice," Emma said._

_She led Lily into the nursery. They came upon a heartwarming, adorable sight. Hermione and Harry were curled up together asleep. Hermione had wrapped her arms protectively around Harry._

_"Oh, that is so precious," Emma cooed, happy tears welling in her eyes, "I need to get Dan and James! They won't want to miss this..."_

More memories of Emma and Lily spending time together, as Hermione and Harry had play-dates. A memory of Hermione's first clear word, not 'Ma' or 'Da', but 'Hawwy'. A memory of James and Lily telling Emma and Dan that Muggles and Muggleborn were being hunted by dangerous men. James explaining that he had an idea that might protect them. A mention of a Betrothal Contract. Emma and Dan unsure about such an idea. James and Lily inviting Emma and Dan to the Lovegoods.

Memory of the visit to the Lovegood house. Emma looking up at the house and smiling at the thought that it looked like something out of a painting. Emma smiling as she watched Hermione and Harry playing in the play-pen in the sitting room of the Rookery, as around them, the adults spoke of Betrothal Contracts and Polygamy, unknowingly planning their possible future...

_"Oh, now that is an interesting tree," Emma said, as she made her left the Rookery with Dan, James, Lily, and Pandora Lovegood. Emma was carrying a sleepy Hermione and Harry was in his baby carrier that Lily carried, "I didn't really notice it when we arrived. What is it?"_

_"It is a Dirigible Plum tree," Pandora said, "The seeds can only be found in rare parts of the Amazon. The plums balloon up and resemble small dirigibles. But you can't take the seeds from the plums to replant them, and they only fall from the tree's leaves in the right temperature, that only found in the Amazon. When they ripen, we'll send a parcel of some to you. They are delicious..."_

Memory of Emma and Dan in their kitchen discussing the possibility of a Betrothal Contract. A memory of Emma, Dan, James and Lily sitting with a strange creature known as a Goblin.

_"Your request is an odd one, Lord Potter," the Goblin said, speaking to James, "But I will do as you ask. Your children won't know about the Contract without their parents' permission first."_

_"We're doing this for the Granger family as a whole," James said, "The Betrothal is just a technicality, or else the Ministry of Magic wouldn't approve. Dan and Emma wants Hermione to make her own choice. If she falls in love with Harry, then it would be easier for her to accept the Contract. She wouldn't understand it any other way. She won't be raised in the pureblood ways where a young witch grows up knowing they may be included in a Betrothal Contract."_

_"I believe I can understand that," the Goblin said. "So... Harry can find out about the other Contracts during his Inheritance but not the Contract with the daughter of the Grangers, without their express permission."_

_"Correct," James said._

_"Unorthodox, but I will do as you request," the Goblin said._

A memory of Emma painting the Rookery. Another memory, the doorbell of the Granger House ringing. Emma answers the door, and an elderly man dressed in purple is on the porch. He raises a wand...

Emma gasped and choked as she opened her eyes.

"She's awake!" Hermione said.

"You're okay, Emma," Amelia said, "Relax. It is over. Calm down."

"I remember everything," Emma said, "That was... intense. How long...?"

"Forty minutes," Dan said, "We were getting worried."

Emma stood on shaky feet, and her her husband helped her over to the recliner, where she sat down.

"You remember all of it?" Dan asked.

"All of it," Emma said. "That man attacking me... it hurt so much. I could feel it!"

"Shh," Dan said, hugging his wife, "You don't need to talk about it just yet. Take some time to process it."

Emma broke down and hugged her husband, who comforted her. She cried for her lost friends, James, Lily and Pandora. She cursed the man who made her forget such wonderful friendships.

"All right," Amelia said, "Your turn, Sirius."

* * *

Sirius Black cleared his throat and walked over to the couch then laid down.

"Sirius," Remus said, "I need to mention something I've been thinking since Dan took the potion. You might not remember everything."

"The Dementors might have taken some of it away," Sirius said, "Yeah, I figured that out for myself, thanks."

"Just thought I would mention it," Remus said.

"Thanks," Sirius said, "Give me the vile drink. Let's get this over with."

Amelia smiled encouragingly and handed the vial over to Sirius. He gulped down the drink immediately and handed the vial back to Amelia.

"Not so bad," Sirius said, "Tasted worse stuff as Padfoot."

He grinned when he heard the various snickers. He sighed and closed his eyes as he relaxed against the throw pillow...

_He was sitting at a conjoined desk in the Auror Department of the Ministry of Magic. His best friend, and Auror partner, James Potter was sitting across from him._

_"Paperwork up the arse," Sirius complained, "They don't put this shit in the brochures when inviting you to the Auror Department. Twenty percent action, eighty percent paperwork. We're in the middle of a war, for Merlin's sake. There are elderly secretaries for this rubbish. That is why they are hired!"_

_"... not getting away this time... no you're not... gotcha!" James was saying, as he chased and snatched his Golden Snitch out of the air, "Sorry Padfoot, what did you say?"_

_"I was wondering why a smart girl like Lily Evans decided that a marriage," Sirius said, "as well as nine months of pregnancy and several hours of the torture known as childbirth was something she could deal with when putting up with a git like you. I distinctly remember Lily yelling at you for playing with that Snitch... several times. Before she became your girlfriend, and after you married her. You still don't learn."_

_"You're just jealous cause I'm married to the sexiest woman in the world," James said, "and a father to a future professional Quidditch star."_

_"Second sexiest girl in the world," Sirius corrected. "But I agree with the Quidditch part."_

_"Don't call my wife sexy," James glared playfully, then he sighed, "Why don't you just put Amelia on your motorcycle, fly off to Gretna Green and get hitched? Then put a baby in her belly during the honeymoon. Take it from me, months and months of preparing for a thirty minute wedding and four hour reception is pointless. I would have loved to get hitched and officially start my life with Lily months in advance. Months and months of waiting for the wedding was torture, worse than a Cruciatus."_

_"I dare you to compare waiting to get married," Sirius said, "To Lily waiting months and months to pop the pup out of her belly."_

_"I am not taking that dare," James said, "Lily's already upset with me."_

_"Trouble in paradise?" Sirius asked._

_"Albus spoke to me and Lily in private after the last Order meeting," James said. "He told us there is a chance that Lily, Harry and I are... ah, bloody Taboo... You-Know-Who's newest obsession."_

_"You mean aside from the three times you got in a confrontation with the Moldy Bastard and somehow escaped with your life?" Sirius asked, "Including once when Lily was in one of those confrontations. While she was pregnant!"_

_"Do you have to remind me of that?" James asked. "Yes, aside from those three times. Dumbledore thinks we're in danger. More danger than usual. He says if it gets worse, we're going to have to go into hiding. He's even talking about making us leave the protective enchantments of Potter Manor for some house in the country Moldy could never find. We would be going into hiding, like at a safe-house or something. Cut off from most of the world."_

_"So... why is Lily upset with you?" Sirius asked._

_"Because I want her to take Harry and hide while I fight in the war," James said. "Also, I am thinking about placing Harry in a Betrothal Contract... maybe more than one."_

_"Betrothals?" Sirius asked, "The pup's not even a year old!"_

_"I know," James said, "It's just a thought. Something I accidentally mentioned to Lily. I forgot how clingy to Harry she is at the moment, and I'm not just talking about when she feeds him. Right now, she feels like she's the only woman he'll ever need. That is a weird thought."_

_"Especially when you consider how she feeds him," Sirius joked._

_"I did not need that mental picture, Padfoot!" James groaned._

_Suddenly a memo in the shape of a paper airplane landed in front of James. James picked it up._

_"Unforgivable Curse Taboo went off," James said._

_"Action!" Sirius said, "Let's go! Fuck paperwork! Did I just say that in a loud voice?"_

_"Yep," James said, grinning._

_"Crap," Sirius said, "Give me a piece of that Portkey before Mad-Eye comes over here. Luckily he has a gimp leg so he's slow as a flobberworm."_

_"You said that out loud too," James said._

_"Crap!" Sirius repeated, with a groan._

_He hopped up from his chair, as did James, and they took hold of the Portkey._

Another memory, this time of Sirius and James being confronted by a Muggle man who looked pleasant and dangerous at the same time, frightening even for an Auror. The Muggle mentioned a culprit vanishing. James says it was magic. The Muggle asks if his daughter is doing magic. James following the Muggle, leaving Sirius to care for the Muggle's injured wife.

_"Hermione... Hermione."_

_"I'm sure Hermione's fine, ma'am," Sirius said, "We need to get you better. That potion should take most of the pain away. I know it hurts. It has happened to me more than I'd like to say."_

_"Sirius!" James said._

_Sirius stood up and turned to James. The Muggle was behind him carrying an adorable little toddler holding a deer stuffed animal._

_"This is a big one," James said, "She's a Muggleborn witch. One of us. Emotional magic just like Harry's known to do. Stuffed animals levitating all around her nursery's ceiling. How's the victim?"_

_"Cruciatus exposure," Sirius said, "But it looks like adrenaline helped a lot. She fought off most of it. A Pain-Reducing Potion was able to help."_

_"Right," James said, "Sirius, I think we need to introduce this lovely family to the wizarding world. But... hell, man... I'm not prepared for this. Lily would be better at it."_

_"Hey, there's an idea," Sirius said, "Let Lily take care of it."_

_"Is my wife going to be alright?" the Muggle asked._

_"She'll be just fine, sir," Sirius said, "Nothing a little rest, food, love and another Pain Potion won't fix."_

_"Potions?" Dan asked, "Like fantasy novel stuff?"_

_"Potions are very real, sir," James said, "There's a lot of stuff you don't know about that has been hidden from you all your life. Stuff you're about to get involved in because of that adorable little girl there."_

_"You said she's a witch?" Dan asked. "I think you'd better explain that."_

_"My wife would do so much better," James said, "She's a Muggleborn, like your daughter. She can explain it in a way you would understand. Perhaps I could invite you and your wife for dinner..."_

More memories. A memory of James and Sirius placing protective enchantments around the Granger house. Of James and Sirius discussing the legality of doing such a thing.

_"The Ministry would never approve," Sirius said, "The views on Muggleborns are so little these days..."_

_"Yeah, Lily rants about it all the time," James said._

_"So what will you do?" Sirius asked. "That Samuels kid. He was obviously doing an initiation into the Death Eaters. What if the house wasn't random...?"_

_"It likely was, but that doesn't matter," James said, "If they find out that little girl is Muggleborn? No... we have to protect them. I have to figure out how to do it in a way that would be legal if the Ministry found out..."_

_Another memory. Sirius Black is sitting in a holding cell in the Ministry of Magic. His life has gone to shambles. James and Lily are dead. Harry... he didn't even know where his pup was. How could he have let Hagrid take him. The Grangers! They likely don't know their friends are dead! Wormtail... this is all because of Wormtail!_

_"Good evening, Sirius," a voice said._

_Sirius looked up. Albus Dumbledore was standing there._

_"Albus?" Sirius asked, "Am I free to go? Have they caught Pettigrew?"_

_"Pettigrew is dead, Sirius," Dumbledore said, "You killed him."_

_"I did not!" Sirius growled. "When is my trial?! Pettigrew's out there. Pettigrew... oh, Merlin, he knows about the Grangers! What if... Albus, you have to protect them!_

_"Who are the Grangers?" Albus asked._

_"James and Lily's friends," Sirius said, "They have a Muggleborn daughter. Harry... he's Betrothed to their daughter. The kids, they're... inseparable. At least they were until James and Lily had to go into hiding."_

_"I will find them and pass on the message, Sirius," Albus said._

_Albus brandished his wand and pointed it to Sirius._

_"What are you doing, Albus?" Sirius asked, "What the bloody hell -?"_

Sirius gasped and choked as he opened his eyes.

"My fault... all my fault!" he groaned, "Cause of me. He did it... cause of me."

"Easy, Sirius," Amelia said, "You're okay. Calm down."

"No, you don't understand," Sirius said, as he sat up and looked at Amelia ,"Albus... night of James and Lily's deaths. When I was in the holding cell. Albus came and... my fault."

"Explain, Sirius," Remus said, "What is your fault?"

"Wormtail," Sirius said, "James... he... told Pettigrew about the Grangers. I told Albus... about the Grangers, about Harry being Betrothed to Hermione. Albus modified their memories because of me."

"So there is a Betrothal Contract?" Hermione asked.

"But I don't understand," Harry said, "Keeper Ragnok, he gave me the Betrothal Contracts. Why didn't he tell us about Hermione's Contract?"

"I can explain that," Dan said, "When we originally were discussing the possibility of a Betrothal Contract, we thought the two of you would be growing up as friends your whole childhood. We didn't want you to think you were forced into marrying each other. We wanted you to have a chance to fall in love on your own. The Contract... it was for our protection, so we could be a part of the House of Potter."

"Yes, there is a Contract for the two of you to wed," Emma said, "But... it was our idea, and James and Lily agreed, that you shouldn't know about it unless you two were involved romantically. We would only reveal it when you turned seventeen, Harry, if you and Hermione weren't a couple."

"What about the other contracts?" Harry asked, "Why were I told about them?"

"James explained that," Emma said, "Because your other Betrothed are purebloods, they likely grew up knowing that they might be Betrothed and that it was common as part of their society. It wouldn't be common for Hermione in our society."

"Later today," Dan said, "We – you, Hermione, Harry, your mother and I – we'll sit down and talk about the Contract. For now, let us focus on everything else."

"Alright," Hermione said.

"Okay," Harry said, "So... Dumbledore was responsible for the memory modifications?"

"I simply remember an old man in purple robes pointing a wand at me and then nothing," Dan said.

"Yeah," Emma said, "He actually had the nerve to visit me at our own home and attack me."

"Purple robes?" Harry asked, "Probably Dumbledore."

"Who else could it be?" Sirius asked, "I told him about the Grangers, after all. Also, he knew Wormtail was alive. I told him in the cell that Wormtail was alive, and he tried to tell me I killed him. I asked about a trial and he didn't say anything. I made the mistake of mentioning the Grangers, and for that, I apologize."

"You didn't know, Sirius," Remus said, "You didn't know Albus was capable of doing something like that. What he was planning."

"He must have visited me after taking Harry to the Dursleys," Sirius said, "Was starting his whole rotten scheme, probably plotting it and silently laughing at me while talking around me while I was in the cell about to be carted off to Azkaban."

"And there is nothing you can do about him?" Dan asked, "Because he has a Ministerial pardon?"

"I could take it to the International Confederation of Warlocks," Amelia said, "But they couldn't do anything immediately. And Albus has his hand in so many of their pies, he would find out the moment I said anything. I'd be putting a lot of people in danger. Too risky. We know what he's capable of. We can't get directly at him. Not right now. I am doing what I can. Investigating him and any known allies. Take down those around him and weaken him."

"Like chess," Dan said, "Take down the pawns and move your way to the King."

"Yes," Amelia said. "Except, in this case he's as powerful as a Chess Queen. Can make moves from all sides. Have to be several steps ahead of him, which is what I'm trying to do."

"I'd say we're doing a pretty good job," Tonks said.

"What was that about Wormtail?" Remus asked, "Knowing the Grangers?"

"Apparently James mentioned Dan, Emma and Hermione to Wormtail," Sirius said, "Did he ever say anything to you?"

"Maybe," Remus said, "But I wouldn't have made the connection. It was so long ago."

"Maybe your memory is modified," Dan said.

"No," Remus said, "Because of – what I am – my mental capabilities are far stronger than a normal human, even a normal wizard. Dumbledore would have known that. He wouldn't have risked trying it on me. I guess he thought the risk was enough. Unfortunately, I never thought about James and Lily mentioning any of their Muggle friends. They never told me about any Betrothal Contracts either."

"Of course, back then – James might have kind of thought you were the traitor in the order," Sirius said, "But only because Peter laid that doubt around, trying to convince us you were a traitor cause you were a Dark creature. So James might not have trusted you with too much information. The risk was too much."

"We were all paranoid back then," Remus said, "I completely understand his mindset, and I'd never hold it against him. So... what do we do about Wormtail?"

"I don't think he's going to come after Hermione's family," Harry said, "A coward like him only wants to find a new safe haven. If Voldemort is still out there, still alive, Wormtail will likely try to search for him."

Sirius knew that Harry was trying to make it sound like speculation, since Amelia, Dan and Emma didn't know his and Hermione's secret. Only he – Sirius – Remus, Tonks and Hermione would hear it differently and know what Harry meant.

"I still think we should place enchantments around this house anyway," Remus said, "Just in case."

"I agree," Hermione said, "Mum and Daddy will be alone without us after Saturday. It is either protective enchantments or... leave Crawley."

"Leaving is only an extreme option," Amelia said, "My Department has connections with some good Ward Builders. Types of wards where, if anyone with an unfamiliar wand passes through, they'll be transported to one of several locations meant for trespassers, checked upon daily by Aurors or DMLE representatives. I'm quite positive Hermione is the only witch residing in this neighborhood. Anyone who gets close to here aside from your friends, would be suspicious. Anyone you trust, you'd simply register their magical core into the wards – easily done by doing a simple Lumos to familiarize that person with the wards."

"It is a good idea," Hermione said, more to her parents than Amelia.

"Do it, Amelia," Dan said, "You have our permission."

"Thanks to the money I got from my part of the Basilisk harvest," Hermione said, "I can pay for it if it is required. It sounds expensive."

"It is," Amelia said, "It is a rare ward and not known by a good majority of the wizarding population. Completely legal. however the Ministry doesn't parade it around. I'll work up the documents when I get back to my office and can have Ward Builders here tomorrow."

"You might also want to have someone checking the area for anyone watching the house," Tonks said, "Wouldn't want anyone unwelcome in the area discovering Wards are being put up."

"Good suggestion, Cadet," Amelia said.

"We could do that, Moony!" Sirius said.

"I'd be happy to help," Remus said.

"Excellent," Amelia said. "Well, I must be getting back to the office before I am missed. Daniel, Emma, it was very nice to meet you. I do hope you are alright after all of that."

"It will take some time to process," Dan said, "But I think we will manage."

"Good," Amelia said, "When is a good time to visit with the Ward Builders?"

"Anytime," Dan said, "We'll all be here."

"Probably best to be random," Tonks said, "Makes it less predictable for anyone suspicious to detect a pattern of you visiting twice in a row."

"Blimey, cousin," Sirius said, "You sound like Mad-Eye."

Harry, Hermione and Amelia snickered. Amelia said her farewells and, with permission from the Grangers, Apparated from the Entrance Hall.

"Do you have to be anywhere, Sirius, Remus?" Emma asked, "I can make some lunch."

"Sounds like a wonderful idea," Sirius said, "I bet your cooking is much better than Tom's at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Well then stick around," Emma said, "I can fix something up."

She smiled then proceeded to leave the room, followed soon after by her husband.

"I'm going to strangle Albus Dumbledore with his own beard," Sirius growled, as he looked around at Remus, Harry, Hermione and Tonks, "It is bad enough that Dementors made me forget about James and Lily. But Dumbledore taking away some good memories of some of my best friends. Dumbledore's going to pay... with his life."

"As much as I'd like to put him on _the list,_" Harry said, "He'll be far tougher to take down than anyone on that list. Besides... killing Dumbledore would be too easy. There's more than one way to destroy a man. We're already on our way to that victory, thanks Rita Skeeter – and that is quite strange to think about. While we're slowly destroying Dumbledore we can focus on other things as well. As for that, we can start on Saturday. It sounds like we're due for another trip to Gringotts very soon. While we're there, I can get the Portkeys to the Potter properties. Potter Manor would be a good place for Headquarters. There we can start putting an end to the Second War before it even starts."

Sirius grinned. "You make a hell of a Marauder, kid. Saturday, it is then."

"I almost forgot!" Harry said, "How could I forget? We need to go Grimmauld Place before too long. I need to retrieve the locket."

"Easy, Harry," Hermione said, "Nobody is going to touch it. We don't need to go there until Saturday. We can go there before we go to Potter Manor."

"I'm up for that," Sirius said.

"Okay... it can wait until Saturday," Harry said; he whistled. "It is going to be a _long _summer."

* * *

**Chapter finished. That ending was weird, but I'm okay with it. Harry's right. It is going to be a long summer. I've had several readers asking me how long this story could be. It could be upwards of 100 chapters. I'll be happy if the story returns to Hogwarts by Chapter 50. That is how much I have planned for the summer! So much is going to happen. So much has already happened. The story isn't even out of June yet. Wow!**

**Next chapter: Harry, Hermione, Dan and Emma discuss the Betrothal Contract and go to Gringotts (a short visit, I promise!) Also, Ward building (maybe, might just be a summary of the event), a letter from somebody slightly unexpected, and maybe... maybe... dinner at Greengrass Manor. That might be saved for the following chapter. We'll see.**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Additional Note: Not having internet put me off my writer's mood. I seriously thought I would have at least two or three more chapters ready to post, and it did not happen! Once I get back in the mood – soon! – I will do my best to get on another good update run!**


	30. Family Meetings and A Fourth Contract

**Chapter 30  
Family Meetings and A Fourth Contract**

**Author's Note: The discussion about the dates of deaths of Harry's grandparents on both sides are merely guesswork on my part. Might not be canon at all. JK Rowling has only ever said their deaths were natural and they died before James and Lily did. But I changed that slightly. I don't think Lily's parents were old enough to **_**both **_**die of natural causes before their youngest daughter was killed.**

* * *

**Monday, June 24th, 1994**

"Sirius, Remus, I have a question for you," Harry said, "Why would my mother agree to the Betrothal Contracts in the first place?"

Harry, Tonks, Sirius, Remus and the three Grangers were currently seated around the table in the kitchen-dining room. Emma had prepared a sort of deli sandwich buffet for everyone.

"Well," Sirius said, "I suppose we should start with a bit of back-story first. Your parents started dating on Halloween of our seventh year. Lily had finally accepted a date with James for the Hogsmeade trip on that day. Three weeks later, Lily's parents were killed in a car crash. It was a mere accident. Nothing sinister, or heinous, definitely not caused by anyone from the wizarding world. Lily was completely torn up about it, of course. James' parents invited her to Potter Manor for the following Christmas holiday. Charlus and Dorea absolutely loved your mother, and she had a pretty good relationship with them. She referred to them several times as her surrogate parents. I kind of felt the same way, myself. That is just how good of people your grandparents were."

He cleared his throat and sighed. "Your grandmother passed away about two months before you were born. And your grandfather... almost exactly a year later. Both natural causes, as far as we can tell. They were getting on in age anyway. Didn't have James until they were fairly up there in age. Both passed away in their sleep. Lily cried as much for them at their funerals as she did for her own parents. James... well, your grandfather raised him up in the ways of politics, but your father was a rebellious sort."

"Probably obvious," Remus said, grinning, "Given the whole Marauder thing."

"Your father just wasn't into the whole political thing," Sirius said, "Sure, he grew up knowing several of the Great Alliance members, several of them were his age or around his age. But he simply didn't want to be a part of the Wizengamot... hell, he said several times he didn't think he could be a good Head of the Potter House. Then Charlus passed away."

"James made several changes in his personality over his lifetime," Remus said, "The first major one was when he realized Lily did not like how he behaved. He matured the summer before our seventh year, changed in ways I still marvel at. After Hogwarts, James was all about wanting to fight in the war. Joined the Auror Corps nearly straight out of Hogwarts – during the war, Cadets were in the Corps for merely a year, sometimes less, before they went to the Department. When we Marauders, and Lily, were invited into the Order of the Phoenix, most of us accepted right away. James didn't want Lily to be a part of it, but your mother always won arguments with him. But James did everything to get her to work behind the scenes. She was excellent at brewing Potions and Healing, so he convinced Dumbledore to assign her those roles. She was rarely out in battle."

"She only ever once confronted Voldemort before that Halloween in 1981," Sirius said, "Ironic the one other time she did face him, she was also protecting you, in a way."

"What?" Harry asked.

"She was pregnant with you," Sirius said, "Just a couple months at the time. Didn't know it then. She broke her ankle during the battle, and James whisked her off to St. Mungo's, thinking she was worse than she really was. The Healer told her she was pregnant. James was beside himself, both happy Lily was pregnant and angry that she risked her life and their baby's life."

"That was another change in him," Remus said, "When he found out he would become a father. He fought harder in the war, he became determined that you would not grow up in a war. Then when Charlus died, he changed again. His views on politics changed. Not only did he want himself and his family to survive, he wanted his own father's legacy to survive. He had been considering Betrothal Contracts before your grandfather died, but your mother did not like the idea."

"To answer your initial question, Harry," Sirius said, "It was your grandfather's death that changed both your parents. Lily only agreed to the Betrothal Contracts when she realized James was doing it for the Great Alliance in his own father's name. It was in dedication of your grandfather. She didn't want his legacy to die out."

"Now that my memories are back of your parents," Emma said, "I do remember them talking a lot about your grandparents – on both sides. Lily talked a lot about her parents when she was explaining how they reacted to her being a Muggleborn witch. I remember thinking that she talked about James' parents with the same love and emotion she had when talking about her own. I suppose we never did ask her why she supported the Contracts. We always assumed it was just to support her husband's wishes. But... now that I hear it from Sirius and Remus, I can see how she would do it because of James' father."

"Thanks," Harry said, "I initially thought as you did, Emma. That she was just supporting Dad's wishes. But now I feel a bit better."

"Well," Emma said, "We were going to wait to discuss this until later... but since Sirius has been through this personally, he might have bit of insight. So, how about we talk about that Betrothal Contract between the two of you, Hermione, Harry. How do you feel about it, Hermione? Your father and I want you to make your own choice."

"I know that," Hermione said, "And the truth is, Daddy, Mum, Betrothal Contract or not, I can't see me marrying anybody else. I mean that very much. Making the Betrothal Contract official would only make it that much more official that Harry and I will marry in a few years. I may be only fourteen, going on fifteen, but I know what I want."

"I believe you, sweetheart," Emma said, "and I am sure your father does too."

He nodded, though obviously a bit grudgingly, as he obviously wished this kind of conversation could be put off for a while.

"Harry?" Emma asked.

"Ever since Hermione and I became friends," Harry said, then laughed, "I guess I should say, ever since we became friends _again – _no one else has been there for me more than Hermione. Even if there was no Betrothal Contract, even if I wasn't required to marry three other girls, Hermione would be the one for me. Nobody comes close to the friendship I have with her. As far as I am concerned, and if she still wants me – which I guess she will – I will marry her in a few years. The Betrothal Contract is only a piece of parchment, a written agreement. I'd sign it now. I doubt it will be breached."

Hermione smiled, a tinge of blush on her cheeks.

"What do you think, Sirius?" Emma asked, "You're the only other one here who has been in a Betrothal Contract."

"I was fifteen the day my parents sat me down and told me I was in a Betrothal Contract," Sirius said. "I didn't have a very good opinion of my parents. I thought they were going to pair me up with someone who was ugly as sin. Hell, I wouldn't have been surprised if they wanted me to marry one of my cousins, just because that is how upside-down most of my family and much of the pureblood world is. I was absolutely shocked when they told me I was in a Contract with Amelia Bones. Her family is part of the Light Alliance, the Blacks were devoted to the Dark Alliance. Apparently it had to do with some promise long ago, it definitely was not up to my parents. Even though it wasn't my choice in the first place, and I was rebellious against anything my parents wanted me to do, I heartily accepted my role in this contract."

"Mostly because you thought Amelia was attractive," Remus said, grinning.

"And she still is!" Sirius said, grinning. "When I was fifteen, I had a history the prior two years of taking a girl on a date to Hogsmeade, or snogging a girl in a broom closet, then forgetting about them the day after. Here I was, all but engaged to one of the finest girls in Hogwarts. Was I in love? Hell no, not at first. I was more concerned with how well she'd – ahem – you get the picture."

Tonks snickered, Hermione rolled her eyes, Harry could only grin at his godfather's antics.

"You say I have the insight with this," Sirius said, "That is an overstatement. Maybe I know how to put together a Contract just because my father wanted me to know. But Harry is still a year, almost two years younger than I was when my parents told me about my contract. And he is a _hell _of a lot more mature than I was. Hermione probably even more so."

Harry huffed playfully. Hermione lightly punched him in the shoulder.

"Most of the time," Sirius said, grinning, which made her parents laugh, and Hermione scowl, "I wouldn't be worried, Daniel, Emma, about their choices even at their age. This isn't about a fling that is going to go away. They're in it for the long run. They know what they want. I can see that for myself."

Harry and Hermione both smiled. Emma and Dan glanced at each other and seemed to be having a silent discussion only parents are capable of. Dan sighed a moment later and looked at his daughter.

"Well, alright," Dan said, "Later today, we'll go to Gringotts and talk to the Goblin in charge of the contract – whatever his name is."

"Ragnok," Harry said. "A good idea. I know you two and my parents told him to keep this from Hermione and I. But I just want to make sure he's not holding anything else from me. I trust him enough, but I've dealt with a traitorous Goblin before."

"We could go after lunch," Sirius said, "Therefore, Remus or I could Apparate you to the Leaky Cauldron and Tonks could bring you back. Remus and I are going to back to Diagon Alley anyway."

"Sounds good," Dan said, "I'd like to get it done and over with."

After lunch, Harry and Hermione were making their way back to their bedrooms, intent on changing into something a bit more formal when meeting with a Goblin, when a thought crossed Harry's mind.

"Oh, bloody hell," Harry muttered.

"Language, love," Hermione said, "What's wrong?"

"How could I have forgotten?" Harry asked, "I haven't checked up on whether or not I still have my Parseltongue ability."

"Well, we've been rather busy, Harry," Hermione said. "You just forgot about it. You can check up on it now."

Harry nodded. He and Hermione went into his bedroom, and he opened his school trunk. He dug through it until he found one of Salazar Slytherin's journals. He inhaled, then exhaled and opened up the book to the first page. Immediately he got his answer. _He could still read the Parselscript._

"I still have it, Hermione," Harry muttered, "It wasn't something Voldemort gave to me. It was in my genes."

"Probably a very dormant ability in one of your bloodlines," Hermione said, "Possibly Black, through your grandmother. Harry? Are you okay with still having it?"

"Dumbledore told me I can speak it because Voldemort could speak it," Harry said, "Just one more of the bastard's lies. I suppose I am okay with it. At least I have my strategy for the First Task."

"It is a useful ability, Harry," Hermione said, "Don't let it get you down, just cause society looks down upon it."

"And if I give it to one of my children?" Harry asked, "_Our children?"_

Hermione went slightly pink at the mention of _their _children. "We'll love them just the same, and we'll encourage them to be happy having a talent like that. Maybe they'll have a career as a dragon trainer. They'd be a popular one as someone who could speak to dragons. Or they can translate books like those journals into English."

"Only you would think about publishing books at a time like this," Harry said, grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Don't dwell on it, Harry. Now, get changed. We need to meet with Keeper Ragnok."

Harry nodded and put the book away. Hermione had left the room by the time he retrieved his change of clothes. He took her advice and decided not to think about it right now. He had other important things to worry about. Like finalizing a _fourth _Betrothal Contract.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Ottery St. Catchpole, at the Weasley residence known as the Burrow, Ginny Weasley and her father were cleaning up the kitchen after a lunchtime meal with what remained of their family. Bill and Charlie had come home the previous day, and while their homecoming had lightened the mood a little around the house, it couldn't make them forget that the Matriarch of the House was currently a prisoner of Azkaban.

Ginny was washing dishes by hand – something her mother always wanted her to do because it let her appreciate how simple things were with magic – when her father exclaimed. She turned around and saw him standing at the counter across the kitchen, reading a piece of parchment. Ginny realized it was her letter from Gringotts.

"Ginny, this letter is addressed to you," he said, "When did you receive this?"

"A little while before – before Mum was arrested," Ginny said. "She put it over there after she read it and said that you, her and I needed to talk about it together. Then you came home, and everything happened, and I suppose I just forgot about it."

"William?" Arthur said, "Are you in the house?"

"Coming, Dad," Bill said, as he made his way into the kitchen. "What is wrong?"

"Is this one-hundred percent real?" Arthur asked, as he handed the letter to Bill.

Bill took the letter and read through it quickly. He looked at Ginny.

"This came in a Gringotts envelope?" he asked.

"Yes," Ginny said, "Directly to my room. Most post usually comes here to the kitchen."

"Keeper Ragnok wanted it to be for your eyes only first," Bill said; then he looked at his father, "It is real. Keeper Ragnok's signature and I can detect his magic on this letter as verification. Two million Galleons?"

"Harry Potter gave it to me," Ginny said, "Because I was one of the victims of the Chamber of Secrets incident. He gave two million to all the victims, even to his girlfriend – he could have given her more, but I don't think he did. The money came from the Basilisk harvest."

"Keeper Ragnok wants Ginny's money in a personal account of her own," Bill said, looking back at his father. "He's probably waiting for a response, has been since he wrote this. Not a good idea to keep him waiting. I can pen it and then you could sign it Dad, and Ginny should too. When should I request a meeting? If you have to work tomorrow, I could bring her in myself. All the letter would need is your permission."

"I've been given a week off of work for personal time, paid leave," Arthur said, "I meant to tell you that. We can go tomorrow. Noon, I suppose. Put off the letter for just a few more minutes. And get everyone in here. I'm calling a family meeting. Should have done it during lunch, but I wanted a peaceful meal. This could get a little hectic."

Bill nodded and retreated from the kitchen.

"A family meeting?" Ginny asked, "Are you going to tell them about my money?"

"No, that is your decision alone, sweetheart," Arthur said, "I have a couple other things in mind."

Ginny nodded and sat down at her usual place at the table. Soon, Arthur and all of his children were seated at the table again.

"I am calling a Weasley family meeting," Arthur said, as he looked at each and every one of his children in turn, "Unfortunately, our family is not whole at the moment, but we are going to do our best to hold together. As with every family meeting, there is to be no raised voices, no heated discussion. Are we all in agreement."

Nods and verbal agreements were heard around the table.

"As we all know," Arthur continued, "Sirius Black was found innocent of his crimes on Saturday. Most of that information was in the Daily Prophet. A few pieces of information has not been published yet. Part of the reason is because it has to do with us. The Ministry has been gracious enough to have a grace period so we could prepare."

"Prepare for what, Father?" Percy asked, "What does our family have to do with Sirius Black?"

"Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge personally wrote me a letter yesterday," Arthur said, "Percy, do you remember when you found your pet rat many years ago?"

"Yes," Percy said, "I was... what... five, maybe? It was on the edge of the wards. I wanted a pet to take care of, so I brought it home. Five year old me called it Scabbers, not exactly the gracious of names. Of course you know I gave it to Ronald when you bought me Hermes."

"And it was the very same rat?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, Father," Percy said.

Arthur looked at Ron, and so did Ginny. She noticed that her brother had very wide eyes. He apparently knew where this discussion was going.

"Do you know what happened to Scabbers, Ron?" Arthur asked.

"Um... yeah," Ron said, in a small voice.

"Please tell us the whole story of the last time you saw Scabbers," Arthur said.

So Ginny and her family listened as Ron began to tell the story. How Scabbers had been missing for weeks, and how Hagrid had found him and gave him to Ron. Then the story got worse... and far more frightening. Fred and George looked as if they thought it was one of the greatest stories ever. Bill and Charlie looked somewhere between amazed and bewildered. Ginny, herself, was shocked at the story. But it was Percy who surprised Ginny. He looked as if he was about to cry.

"Thank you, Ron," Arthur said, "Minister Fudge, in his letter, told me basically the same story. It was the story Harry Potter and Hermione Granger gave during their witness testimonies at Sirius Black's trial. Percy, son, are you alright?"

"It is my fault," Percy said, "And for that I apologize. I should have come to you and Mother years ago, Father. I knew rats only lived up to six years. I read that in the 'rat and mouse care' booklet you gave me Father. By the seventh year, I thought it was just a long life. Then more years came, and the rat continued to live. I thought I was lucky to have such a brilliant pet. If I had informed you about its abnormal life, you might have thought something was wrong with it. I thought I'd lose my rat. I should have given him to you and told you about it."

"It is okay, son," Arthur said, "It is in the past, and you are at no fault."

"This Pettigrew criminal could have gone to Azkaban if things went different," Percy said, "Black could have been free. I will write a personal apology to Sirius Black and the Ministry and let them know I am sorry."

"I'm sure they'd appreciate that," Arthur said. "There was something else Minister Fudge wrote in his letter. Something good for all of us. Minister Fudge has personally invited all of us, as his guests, to join in him the Minister's Box at the final of the Quidditch World Cup."

Several cheers were heard around the table. Arthur let it go on for nearly a minute before he quieted them down.

"We'll get more information about it in August," Arthur said, "Now, for the other reason behind this meeting. Yesterday, when Bill and Charlie arrived, I told you about Ron's illness. I did not tell you everything. It turns out Ron was poisoned. In fact, he's been poisoned – in a way – since before he even started Hogwarts for his first year."

Ginny glanced at her youngest brother and found him glancing at the table.

"Who poisoned him?" Fred asked.

"One of the Slytherins?" George asked, "We'll hex him. Nobody messes with our brother."

"Except for us!" Fred and George said.

"Madam Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Arthur said, "believes she knows who the culprit is. She... she believes it is Professor Dumbledore."

Ginny's eyes widened, and her reaction was shared by most around the table.

"Headmaster Dumbledore?" Percy asked, "Impossible! Why would he do that?"

"I can't go into specifics right now, son," Arthur said, "And I forbid Ron to tell it too. Madam Bones does not want it getting out. Professor Dumbledore has Ministerial pardon for a full year. Until then he cannot be charged with poisoning Ron. Unfortunately this brings a big problem our way. Madam Bones is afraid Dumbledore will continue to target Ron."

"It has something to do with Harry and Hermione," Ginny said, "Doesn't it? Ron was friends with them."

"Partially, yes," Arthur said, "You are correct. He was trying to use Ron to hurt Harry and Hermione. I don't know all the details. Madam Bones has come up with a solution. Unfortunately, it isn't something that everyone here will like, and it only affects the youngest four here at the table, but mostly it affects Ron. Madam Bones believes Ron should leave Hogwarts."

Ginny, Fred and George all gasped. Ron's expression was unreadable.

"She would personally enroll him in a different school herself," Arthur said.

"Where?" Charlie asked, "Ron doesn't speak French, so he isn't going to go far at Beauxbatons. And you would never put him in Durmstrang."

"Brighton Academy," Arthur said.

Bill whistled. "The prep school for the Auror Corp. That is an excellent school. If Ron wanted to be an Auror, he'd only need one year in Auror Corp after the academy instead of three."

"Isn't Brighton Academy a military school?" Percy asked.

"Yes, it is," Arthur said, "They jog and exercise every morning and evening before meals and classes. And their classes are smaller. So each student gets far more personal dedication to their schoolwork then you would at Hogwarts."

"I'd seriously think about it, Ron," Bill said, "It would not only be a good school, you would already have a career right out of school. A good career. Auror Cadet one year, Auror the next."

"Hogwarts is my school though," Ron said, "I'm a Gryffindor. And I could be on the Quidditch team."

"I'm sure Brighton Academy has Quidditch teams," Bill said.

"Ron, you've been complaining about your schoolwork since you went to Hogwarts," Ginny said.

"Yeah, if it wasn't the troll or Dementors out to get you, it'd be homework," Fred said.

"Or the Slytherins," George said, "Or the rest of the school. It was you and not us who were getting laughed at for that last week. Because of your illness."

"Boys," Arthur reprimanded, "I am sure Ron doesn't need reminded of that. The reason I'm not just sitting down with Ron and discussing this, is because I want to talk about it with you, Fred, George, Ginny. If Dumbledore is truly targeting Ron, and he left, then the Headmaster might turn to you."

"Never!" Fred said.

"We'll watch out for each other," George said.

"Yeah," Ginny said, "We're well-warned now."

"I have to agree with them, Dad," Bill said, "Dumbledore likely knows we're onto him. We could simply write letters to them every week. I could easily enchant the letters so they're only able to be opened by Weasleys. We'll have a keyword in every letter. If the next letter doesn't have that keyword, something is wrong. I say that, but I still support Ron going to Brighton. He's already susceptible. No offense, Ron."

"Is that what you wanted to ask us?" Ginny asked, "whether we wanted to go to Brighton, or stay at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Arthur said.

"Hogwarts," Fred and George said.

"I'm this close," George said, "From getting a date with Angelina Johnson. I'm not going to mess that up!"

"Yeah, and she'd totally hate you if we left her to finding two new Beaters," Fred said, "she'll obviously be Captain."

"I'm not leaving Hogwarts, Dad," Ginny said, "I'll be fine."

"This isn't because of romance for you too, is it, Ginny?" Bill asked, grinning.

"None of your business," Ginny said, sticking out her tongue.

"She has a boyfriend," Fred said.

"I do not!" Ginny said, blushing, then muttered, "Not yet."

Arthur looked amused. "I will allow you to return unless I get wind Albus is up to something concerning my children. Then you're out. Ron, you don't need to give me a decision yet. Enrollment deadline is August 1st. You have until the twenty-eighth of July to make your decision. A little over a month. I believe we can conclude this meeting if there are no other issues?"

Nobody spoke up. Arthur looked at Ginny, and she knew he wanted to know if she wanted to tell the family about her new fortune. She shook her head.

"Alright," Arthur said, "We'll get through this together, boys, Ginny. We always have been able to survive. Mum will be home before you know it. Ginny, Bill, remain here please. Everyone else can go."

Ginny and Bill waited with their father until the kitchen emptied out.

"Please pen that letter, Bill," Arthur said, "For a meeting at noon tomorrow. We don't want to hold it off for a day more. We've both dealt with grouchy Goblins."

Bill grimaced and left the kitchen. Arthur turned to Ginny.

"Two million Galleons is a lot of money, Ginny," Arthur said.

"You're not going to tell me to decline it, are you?" Ginny asked, "That it is charity."

"Merlin, no," Arthur said, "To be honest, that is your mother's words. She simply doesn't want to make it known to her children or anyone else that we worry about money. Accepting money would be the easiest way to show that."

"Your kids know you worry about money, Daddy," Ginny said, "It isn't a secret."

"I know that, and so does your mother," Arthur said.

"I'm giving five-hundred thousand Galleons to the Family Vault, Daddy," Ginny said, "One-and-a-half million is enough for me and my future family. But that won't come for several years. I want to help my family now. No more second hand books and clothes."

Arthur smiled. "Thank you, Ginny. It will truly help this family over the next few years."

"You're welcome," Ginny said.

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry, Tonks and the three Grangers were making their way through Diagon Alley toward Gringotts. They had just said goodbye to Sirius and Remus, who promised they would be back at the Granger house the following day when the Ward Builders came by.

They made their way into Gringotts and Harry led them over to Ragnok.

"Greetings, Keeper Ragnok," Harry said, "Do you have time for a meeting with Hermione, my colleagues and I?"

Ragnok looked at Harry's 'colleagues' and his eyebrows raised as he saw the adult Grangers.

"Of course, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "Follow me."

Ragnok lead the group into the same meeting room Harry and Hermione had been in during their previous two visits. Soon, they were all seated at the table.

"It has been a long time, Mr. and Mrs. Granger," Ragnok said.

"It certainly has, Keeper Ragnok," Dan said.

Ragnok cleared his throat, a guttural sound. "This is most unexpected. Over the past three years, I have watched you enter the hallowed halls of this bank, and never did you look at me with any sense of recognition. I had a theory that something was wrong, but I couldn't be sure. It had been nearly ten years. I had thought you just had forgotten me."

"Given that we have such an important Contract under your protection," Dan said, "I find that a tad unbelievable, no offense meant."

"Keeper Ragnok," Hermione said, "Did you know who I was when I met you a few weeks ago?"

"You were present with your parents as a toddler," Ragnok said, "Along with Lord Potter, who was little more than an infant, and his parents."

"And you didn't think to mention that?" Harry asked.

"You are upset, Lord Potter," Ragnok said, "I can understand that. You should know that your parents made -"

"- made you promise to keep the Contract concerning me and Hermione a secret until they or Hermione's parents said otherwise," Harry cut in. "What they did not count on was that Dan and Emma would have their memories modified. Something we would not have known if it wasn't for Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Your father and his father before him, and so on and so forth," Ragnok said, "Have been in the trust of myself and my names before me for a very long time. I could not easily break the trust of any of those I served."

"Including me?" Harry asked.

"There were conflicting situations," Ragnok said.

"Enough," Harry said, "I don't need to hear this. I don't want to fight with you, or blame you for anything. You've been a lot of help to me, Keeper Ragnok. These past few days have been pretty testing for me and those with me here. You're not the one that needs to be blamed for all of this. I just want to see the Contract I should have seen when I took my Inheritance Test."

"I still need your permission, Mr. Granger," Ragnok said.

"You have it," Dan said, obviously trying his hardest to keep calm.

Ragnok snapped his finger and a piece of parchment appeared in front of Harry. He picked it up and read through it.

**Official Betrothal Contract**

**Groom: Harry James Potter**  
**DOB: 31 July 1980**  
**Parents: James and Lily Potter**

**Bride: Hermione Jean Granger**  
**DOB: 19 September 1979**  
**Parents: Daniel and Emma Granger**

**Additional Information:**

**Wedding Date Deadline: None**  
**Line Continuance: No**  
**Offered Title to Bride: Lady Potter – Head of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter**  
**Required # of Children: None**  
**Other Requirements: Daniel, Emma and Hermione Granger to be named Official members of the House of Potter**

**Signed:**  
**James Potter**  
**Lily Potter**  
**Daniel Granger**  
**Emma Granger**

**Witness:****  
****Gringotts Official Witness: Ragnok The Sixth, Potter Family Vault Keeper**

"No other human witnesses were necessary?" Harry asked, as he gave the Contract to Hermione to read.

"Not required for a Betrothal," Ragnok said. "It assures privacy between the two families if desired."

"Aside from handing me the title of Lady Potter," Hermione said, "It seems pretty open. There isn't even a deadline for a wedding date."

"The Betrothal was decided from the start to be explicitly open for the two of you," Dan said.

"James did his best to make sure this was official in the eyes of the Ministry," Ragnok said, "Even down to the decision of making you and your family, Miss Granger, members of the House of Potter from the minute they signed the Contract. That is rare in itself. It usually doesn't happen until the bride is officially married into the family."

"Dad really was simply trying to protect your family," Harry said, "The Betrothal is just simply so the Ministry wouldn't be able to oppose it."

"Correct," Ragnok said. "You could have your wedding at the age of 90 and it would still follow the rules of the Contract, as long as you never gave up the role of Lady Potter to someone else. The possibility of offspring at that age is likely impossible, but due to the contract, that does not matter. It would still be a fulfilled Contract."

"It truly is our choice," Harry said, "Well, Hermione and I discussed this with her parents. We want the Contract to be official. Where Hermione and I are officially Betrothed."

Ragnok snapped his fingers and a Blood Quill appeared.

"Simply sign the parchment and it will be official," Ragnok said, "As you are Emancipated, you need no parent or guardian signature, Lord Potter. But Hermione and her parents need to sign, or in Mr. and Mrs. Granger's case, sign again.."

Harry, Hermione, Dan and Emma proceeded to sign in the space at the bottom of the Contract. When the last signature was placed, the Contract shone a golden color.

"Lord Potter, Miss Granger," Ragnok said, "The pair of you are now officially Betrothed. The only requirement to fulfill the Contract is that Miss Granger be coined Lady Potter on the day of your wedding. Once that happens, the Contract penned many years ago will be fulfilled."

"I know it was described many years ago," Dan said, "But what does it mean to be a member of House Potter?"

"Well, let's see," Ragnok said, "I believe there is a large family tree, a tapestry, located in Potter Manor. Yourself, your wife, and your daughter would be on that tapestry. None of your ancestors before you, only you. Once Hermione is married to Lord Potter, their lines would connect on the Tapestry, and the families would officially merge. Any Potter Family enchantments set on your residence would be completely legal in the eyes of the Ministry. In addition, all Potter properties recognize you as family members and can pass through any Potter Family enchantments.

"If Miss Granger were to buy any shares in businesses, or the business itself, it would be a part of the House of Potter. If you were to attend social events in the wizarding world, you would represent House Potter. Miss Granger is currently wearing on her breast the crest of the House of Potter, because she is a Vassal of the House of Potter. The two of you would have something like it on your outfits."

"Then there is the more serious parts. If you were to commit a crime in the wizarding world, the House of Potter could legally stand behind you and defend you with a choice of their own solicitor. If you were attacked or – forbid the thought – murdered – the House of Potter could legally duel your attacker for satisfaction, in defense of you. The attacker could not back down until the duel is won on either side."

"Hopefully that never happens," Dan muttered.

"Agreed," Ragnok said.

"You speak of Potter Family enchantments," Harry said, "How would I learn of these?"

"The Potter Family Grimoire," Ragnok said. "It is not in your Family Vault. I can only assume it is at Potter Manor. I would look for a safe of some kind when you visit. I am sure it is there."

"Thanks," Harry said, "I believe we're done here. I'd like to go down to my Family Vault before we leave."

"Who shall accompany you?" Ragnok asked.

"No thanks," Dan said, "I remember James mentioning you have to get past a dragon to get to your Vault. Count me out."

Hermione giggled. "Tonks, would you please remain with my parents while Harry and I go down to the Vault?"

"We'll meet you at Fortescue's," Tonks said, "I am sure Florean has some sugar-free ice cream."

Dan and Emma looked thrilled at that thought.

* * *

**Chapter finished! I'm not sure if we'll see the trip to the Vault. Maybe. Harry just needs to pick up the Portkeys to his properties.**

**Next chapter: Ward Building (possibly), a letter from someone slightly unexpected, and Dinner at Greengrass Manor!**

**I am in a bit of a bind. What should I do with Percy? Should he go the same way as canon-GOF and work in the Ministry? Should he work in the Ministry then realize it isn't for him. Should he be affected by the revelation of Scabbers and sign up for the Auror Cadets? What? I seriously don't know what do with him! I kind of like the second option, because he could figure out something is wrong with Crouch. But I don't know...  
**

**Note: For those of you who haven't seen it yet, there is a new poll on my profile. It seems there is a clear winner, but please do vote if you want! It has to do with the future of the story regarding whether or not to split this story into sequels.**


	31. Dinner At Greengrass Manor

**Chapter 31  
Dinner At Greengrass Manor**

**Author's Note: A few thank yous to hand out.**

**Thank you for voting on the poll. There was a very clear winner. This story will go all the way to the end of fourth year. I already have pretty good ending. Yes, there will be a sequel. Yes, I already know the title of it. No, I won't tell you anything about it. Yes, there is a chance this first story could be 100+ chapters. I hope not. But it could be!**

**Next, thank you for all your suggestions for Percy. Truly gave me some ideas that I might use! Some that I hadn't even thought of. So many good ones that I just need to figure out which is the best for my story.**

**This is a very long chapter! Enjoy!**

**Additional Note: If you read my story "The Harem War" some of this may seem familiar to you.**

* * *

**Tuesday, June 25th, 1994**

Sirius Black was currently in his Animagus form as Padfoot, as he walked down the sidewalk around the Crawley neighborhood where the Grangers lived. His best friend, Remus Lupin, and cousin Nymphadora Tonks were walking together a few feet behind him. It had been Amelia's idea to have them pose as a couple with a dog taking an afternoon stroll through the neighborhood, in an undercover role of sorts, as they searched for any possibility of spies who might be following or watching the Grangers.

Sirius had laughed when Amelia had made that suggestion. In another world, Tonks may have been a perfect match for Remus Lupin. She knew about his illness and still wanted to be his friend. She was cute, young and spunky, something Remus needed. Unfortunately for his pal, Moony, Sirius could see that Tonks had her eye on somebody else. Sirius didn't know whether she would succeed with her fancy, but he would just sit back and watch. It would be most interesting to see where it went. If it didn't work out, he could always set her up with Remus.

Amelia Bones and a couple of privately funded Ward Builders were at the Granger House building the protective enchantments. Amelia had hand-picked the Ward Builders herself, and had put them through rigorous security tests to make sure they were trustworthy. They had passed with flying colors.

As Sirius sniffed the air, he came across a particular scent. He had not smelled such an odor in many years, but it was still familiar to him. He growled, alerting Remus and Tonks, then sped down the sidewalk toward a group of bushes. He jumped over the bushes and found a man hiding there. The man yelped, but before he could move, Sirius pounced on him and pinned him to the ground.

"Back up, Padfoot!" Remus said, "Heel! Good catch! You got him!"

Sirius backed away from the man and transformed back into his normal form. He whipped his wand from his robes and pointed them at the man.

"Dung Fletcher!" Sirius said, "Long time, no see!"

"Black?" Mundungus Fletcher said, "Lupin? That you? 'Eard ya was free, I did, Black. Good to 'ear. Truly is. Never saw you as the guilty type. But what the 'ell are you doin' round these parts? Bloomin' scarin' the shite outta me, man!"

"We'll ask the questions here, Dung," Sirius said, "We'd like to know what you're doing here."

"Jus' though' I'd take a kip for a trifle," Dung said.

"A kip?" Remus asked, "Bit of a coincidence, it is. Napping down the street from where a young Muggleborn witch lives. A Muggleborn who just happens to be friends with Harry Potter. That young man is staying with the Muggleborn and her parents right now."

"Potter?" Dung asked, "Really now. I did not know that. He nearby? Kin I meet him?"

"Oh, he is nearby," Sirius said, "As is Amelia Bones, the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. I'm sure she'd be real interested in why you are here."

"I din't do nuttin'!" Dung said, "I din't – oh, bollocks! Dumbledore! Albus Dumbledore! He made me do it, he did! Wanted me to spy on tha' wee miss and Potter! Said he'd pay me some good money fer it! I ain't saying 'no' to a bit of gold when I kin get it! You gotta believe me!"

"I believe you, Dung," Sirius said, "But you're still coming with us."

Dung sighed and stood up. He grabbed his half-smoked cigar from the ground, brushed off the end and put it back in his mouth.

"It is three on one, Dung," Remus said, as they started walking back toward the Granger house, "You try to escape, and I'll make sure you splinch yourself so bad that we have to find you again before you go anywhere."

"I ain' goin' nowhere," Dung said, "You haven't changed one bit, Lupin. Threatenin' me like that. It is why everyone though' you were the traitor all those years ago."

"Pettigrew fed you lies, Dung," Remus said, "He voted for you to stay in the Order, and that made you like him. Just what he wanted. He told you what he told everyone. That I'm a Dark creature, so I must be a traitor."

"If you saw past his lies, why did you let him be, then, eh?" Dung asked.

"We didn't see past his lies," Sirius said, "Not until it was too late."

"Oh," Dung said, "That makes sense, I suppose."

"You haven't seen him lately, have you?" Sirius asked.

"No, I haven't," Dung said, then grinned, "I mean – yeah, yeah I have! Lemme go, and I give you the good tips!"

"Liar," Tonks said, "You just don't want to see Madam Bones."

"Kin ya blame me?" Dung asked, "I got me a bad rep wit' her. She hates me."

"She hates criminals, Dung," Sirius said. "You're a criminal. Therefore, she hates you."

Dung huffed. Two minutes later they approached the Granger House. Amelia Bones grinned like a cat who caught the canary when she saw Mundungus Fletcher.

"Caught Fletcher hiding behind a bush down the street, boss," Tonks said, "Said he was taking a nap, but we knew he was lying. Convenient that his nap spot was just down the street, in perfect view of the house."

"We got the truth out of him though," Sirius said, "He admitted he was spying on Harry and Hermione for Dumbledore. Apparently he's doing it mainly for the Galleons."

"What do you have to say, Fletcher?" Amelia asked, "You're guilty of stalking and mischief, both against minors. On top of everything else I know you've been doing over the years. That is several years in Azkaban."

"Amy, I think we should let him go," Sirius said.

Amelia, Remus and Tonks looked as if he was mad.

"Explain yourself, Sirius," Amelia said.

"Dumbledore will be looking to get information out of Dung," Sirius said, "I think we should be in control of what he tells Dumbledore. By Saturday, Harry and Hermione will no longer be here. We need Dumbledore to believe that he has no reason to come here. We could have Dung tell him that he overheard the Grangers and Harry talking about going on holiday for the remainder of the summer."

"How exactly would we go about doing that?" Amelia asked.

"Modify Dung's memories," Sirius said.

"Really, Sirius?" Remus asked, "You suggest that knowing you've been a victim of that very thing?"

"Do you want Dung telling Dumbledore that we're onto him?" Sirius asked. "Dumbledore likely suspects Amelia knows a few things about him. But us? He doesn't know that we know. Obliviating Dung would merely make Dumbledore suspicious. But modifying his memory so that he forgets all of what happened today and remembers a different scenario? Best idea we have. It would protect Dan and Emma, on top of the Wards being added today, and Dumbledore would think Harry and Hermione would be out of the country for a while."

"I like it," Tonks said.

Amelia nodded. "Alright. Even if I did arrest him, I'd have to follow protocol. Put him in front of the Wizengamot, and Dumbledore would probably find out exactly how he was arrested."

Remus grudgingly agreed, though he seemed a bit disappointed that Sirius had come up with such a plan.

"Will you do the honors, Amelia?" Sirius asked.

"Probably best," Amelia said.

Sirius and Remus held Dung's arms while Amelia pointed her wand at him and concentrated. Two minutes later she was finished. Then she Stunned him, and he fell unconscious in between Sirius and Remus.

"Cadet Tonks," Amelia said, "Please Side-Along Apparate him to an empty alleyway in Knockturn Alley. You have my permission to douse him with an Inebriation Charm. Make him think he slept off a binge."

"Yes, ma'am," Tonks said, "I'll be right back."

Tonks grabbed Dung's shoulder, and Sirius and Remus let go, just as she Apparated with Dung.

"We need to talk about your reckless ideas, Padfoot," Remus said, "Even though Harry is Emancipated, you're likely still going to be watching him as a pseudo-Guardian over the next few years."

"I don't think Harry's in danger of learning any bad manners from Sirius, Remus," Amelia said, "The lad knows what he wants already. Actually I'm quite pleased with Sirius' suggestion."

Remus looked surprised, and Sirius grinned.

"No, I'm not just saying that because he's a potential love interest," Amelia said.

"'Potential'?!" Sirius echoed.

Amelia sighed. "Sirius, I know you want to be back in the Auror Department before too long, but your godson will be back at Hogwarts before that happens. Until then... I want you to work with me."

"I'm listening," Sirius said.

"I'm a busy woman in my Department, Sirius," Amelia said, "Between that factor and the chance that Minister Fudge could be breathing down my neck means I can't focus on Albus Dumbledore too much without Fudge finding out. If it was up to Fudge, he wouldn't allow me to start an investigation until the day Dumbledore is no longer pardoned. By then it will be too late. So I am turning the investigation over to you."

"An excellent idea, Amy!" Sirius said. "I'm not at all affiliated with the Ministry right now. He'd never suspect me investigating him."

"Correct," Amelia said, "Look for any connections. Any Allies like Fletcher. Any dealings he has been doing lately. Albus is an excellent Potions Master in his own right. But he doesn't brew his own Potions if he doesn't have to. He hires others to do it for him. Watch for any possible new substitute for Snape and Molly Weasley. Rumor is he is bringing back Horace Slughorn for Snape's old post. Make sure Slughorn is only doing it for the Professor job, and nothing else. Also make sure Albus isn't visiting any Apothecaries, public or private. You have all that?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Sirius said, grinning.

"You're going to Potter Manor soon?" Amelia asked.

"Saturday," Sirius said, "Harry's been hinting that both Remus and I will be living there with him, Hermione and Tonks."

"Hmm," Amelia said, "Susan has been wanting to get to know Harry and Hermione better. Maybe we can arrange a day to visit Potter Manor. The kids can hang out, while we further discuss the investigation."

"I'll bring up the idea with Harry," Sirius said, "I'm sure he'd accept. May not be able to get around to it until a week from Saturday, since you're busy at the Ministry during the week."

"Very," Amelia agreed. "I agree with that day."

"I'll talk with Harry and send you a letter," Sirius said, "I might suggest he write a letter to Susan formally inviting her to Potter Manor."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that," Amelia said, with a smile.

Tonks walked up to them, apparently having come from down the street.

"Well, the Anti-Apparation Wards seem to have gone up shortly after I left," she said, "They work by the way. I forgot for a moment where I wanted to Apparate. But I've been training myself to feel Wards like those."

"Continuing your self-studies then?" Amelia asked, "Excellent. I better tell the Ward Builders to put a bit more power into those Misdirection Wards. Dumbledore could easily bypass them right now. We don't need to worry about it ourselves. Once we go through the process where Miss Granger takes control of the Wards and keys us in, nobody who isn't keyed in – well, they just better stay away. Come on. We better get ourselves keyed in before the Wards eject us."

Amelia led Sirius, Remus and Tonks back into the house, where they proceeded to do just that. By the time they left an hour later, the Granger House was the most secure residence in Crawley.

* * *

**Wednesday, June 26****th****, 1994**

Wednesday morning, after his morning jogging session and shower, Harry Potter was sitting at the desk in the guest bedroom penning a letter. Per Sirius' suggestion, which he had heartily agreed to, he was writing a formal invitation to Susan Bones to Potter Manor one week from Saturday.

He had spoken about the idea with Hermione, and had considered inviting Daphne and Luna on that day as well. But Hermione reminded him that they would both be out of the country on holiday by then. She had also reminded him about his idea of a social party in August for the Great Alliance, including his three Betrothed. Between that party, and the final match of the Quidditch World Cup, in which Susan had invited him, Hermione, his other Betrothed and their friends to tag along – Luna would be going with her father, but would likely be able to meet with them – there was ample time for him and his Betrothed to hang out together before next term at Hogwarts began. Luna had accepted his invitation to join him, Hermione and Tonks in the Lord's Quarters. Now he just needed to finalize arrangements with Susan and Daphne, and perhaps Daphne's girlfriend, Tracy Davis, as well.

He would have an opportunity to cross another name that list soon enough. He would be meeting with Daphne that evening at the Greengrass Manor for dinner and the last Betrothal Contract meeting.

As he was finishing up the letter to Susan, he heard a pecking sound on the bedroom window. He stood and walked over to the window and found Percy Weasley's owl, Hermes, perched there. He opened the window, and Hermes offered one of his legs. Harry untied the letter from the owl's leg, and Hermes flew off. Harry noticed that the owl had other letters attached to his talons. Apparently he had other places to be.

Wondering why on earth Percy would be writing to him, he walked back over to the desk, sat in the chair and opened the scroll. He found that the letter was not from Percy, but Ginny. Not sure whether or not he'd regret it, he began to read the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I'm sure you're mildly surprised that I am writing this to you. I fear I might have come off as bit of a bitch when we last spoke. I have done a lot of thinking since then, and I wish to formally congratulate you on your Betrothals. Luna wrote to me recently, and she seems fairly excited. I know I've come across as somewhat of a fan-girl of yours. I admit, with great reluctance, that I do fancy you. But I am going to do my best to move on. Even if you could accept me, I know I could not handle sharing you with other women. I'm sure there is someone out there for me as good as you._

_But that is not why I am writing. I am writing for several reasons._

_The first is to formally thank you for your generous decision to give me a share of the Basilisk harvest's fortune. I must get one thing off my chest though. Two million Galleons is a lot of money, Harry! There I said it. As you can guess, I was completely shocked. But I understand it was an equal split between the other victims as well. I have given a quarter of the fortune to my family. It should be able to last for several years. As of yesterday, my share of the fortune is now sitting in my very own personal Vault at Gringotts. It will truly help me in my future, wherever it will take me. Thank you again for your generosity, and for all you did for me during my first year at Hogwarts. I will never forget it._

_Moving on. I am sure you heard all about one of the recent hardships my family has suffered through. My mother is now a five year resident of Azkaban prison. Though my father is hopeful her sentence will be reduced greatly in the future. I was informed by my father of exactly what my mother was doing. I want you to know I had no knowledge of my mother's plot to use Love Potion on you or Hermione in order to fall into a false love with me and Ron respectively. I swear it, and I would make an Honor Vow on it if I had to. Though I do fear Mum would have snagged me into her plot eventually. That scares me to think about what might have happened._

_Speaking of Ron, I suppose I should tell you something you might not have heard about yet. Remember his muteness and flatulence problem at Hogwarts? Apparently he was poisoned! Madam Amelia Bones, of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement believes that Albus Dumbledore is behind it. I'm not supposed to tell anyone that, but I think you should know. My Dad seems to believe Dumbledore wanted to use my brother against you and Hermione! Makes me ill thinking about it._

_I suppose I should also mention this: Madam Bones came up with a suggestion for Ron. You see, she believes if Ron goes back to Hogwarts, Dumbledore would poison him again. So she wants him to leave Hogwarts and go to another school – Brighton Academy, the sister school of the Auror Academy! If Ron were to attend, then he could go to the Auror Academy after he finishes up. He would only need one year of Auror Cadet training before he could be an Auror! Ron is still thinking about it. He has a month until he has to make his decision. I'm sure he'll make up his mind before then. Dad asked me, Fred and George if we wanted to leave Hogwarts, but we answered with a resounding 'no'! We'll be fine. Ron is the one we're worried about._

_Now for some really good news! Minister Fudge has personally invited me and my family to the final match of the Quidditch World Cup in August! I'm so excited! We'll be sitting in the Minster's Box. Do you plan on going? Maybe I'll see you there._

_In case you're wondering, I haven't thought too much about the whole Mental Healer thing this summer. But I think I'll talk to Dad about it soon. At least I can afford the appointments now!_

_I suppose I should end my letter here. Percy is writing a couple letters and I want to send this with Hermes as well._

_Give my best wishes to Hermione and your Betrothed, and take some for yourself._

_Your friend,_  
_Ginny_

As Harry finished reading the letter, he heard footsteps behind him, and he turned around. Hermione was standing there.

"You almost finished writing your letter to Susan?" she asked, "Daddy wants to begin today's knife-throwing session. He really believes we can complete the basic session by Friday!"

"I should be done shortly," Harry said, "It appears I have another letter to write as well."

He raised Ginny's letter to Hermione. She walked over to him, and he handed her the letter. As she read through it, Harry finished his letter to Susan.

"I'm honestly confused exactly how I should feel about this," Hermione said. "At first I thought she was coming onto you, but it truly feels as if she is doing her best to get over you. Her statements concerning her mother's Love Potions just confuses me more. I thought she was guilty of collaborating with her mother and Ron, at least in the future, but now I'm not so sure."

"I don't want to think about it honestly," Harry said, "I've been trying to figure out whether everything I felt for her during sixth year was real or not. I don't know whether it was Love Potions or hormones. But that was in the past... technically. I'm with you, we're Betrothed, and I am Betrothed to three other girls as well. Ginny is the past. This is my future."

"Good," Hermione said, then glanced at the letter. "So Madam Bones thinks Ron was 'poisoned' by Dumbledore. Which means everything we did to Ron, she blames on Dumbledore."

"Probably a good thing," Harry said, "I mean you did put an Imperius Curse on him."

"Looking back, I could have done it differently," Hermione said, with a shrug. "I'll be more careful next time. However, it seems we may not have to deal with Ron anymore. Brighton Academy really is a fantastic school. I read up on it. If Ron goes, he could have a brilliant future. It is hard for me to say this, but good for him. I truly hope he takes advantage of it. Especially if it keeps him away from us."

"Me too," Harry said.

"So it appears the Malfoys have been replaced with Ginny and Ron's family," Hermione said, grinning, "That should put a damper on Malfoy, on top of what we're planning to do to his dear old Daddy. You reckon Amelia's tickets for the World Cup are in the Minister's box?"

"I'm sure they are," Harry said, then whistled, "Between the Weasleys and Amelia's party of guests, on top of everyone else, the Minister's box will be full!"

"Which means we'll have to see Ron at least one more time," Hermione said, "By then Rita Skeeter will have the story published about the Betrothals, as you promised. Well, we'll just have to deal with it as it comes."

"Yep," Harry said, "I need to write a letter to Ginny. I do believe that letter deserves a reply."

"Alright," Hermione said, "Try not to sound too flirty though."

Harry laughed, then promised he wouldn't when he realized she might be serious. He quickly wrote a reply commenting on almost everything Ginny had talked about. He mentioned that he would indeed be going to the final of the Quidditch World Cup, as well as who he would be going with, and that it would likely be in the Minister's Box as well. He did not, however, comment on his Betrothal to Hermione, deciding Ginny could find that out along with the rest of Great Britain on his birthday – he did promise Rita the article, of course. He ended the letter, offering best wishes to the Weasley family and finished with 'Your friend', as well as adding 'Lord' to his name, and his official title as Head of the Potter House.

He stood and tied the two scrolls to Hedwig's leg.

"Long trip today, girl," Harry said, as he fed her an owl treat, "Bones Manor, and the Burrow. I'll likely be at Greengrass Manor when you return, so I'll see you this evening. If they wish to reply to the letters – which I am sure Susan will – please wait for a reply. Go on. Safe travels."

Hedwig nodded, nipped him affectionately on the finger, then flew out the window. Harry turned and followed Hermione out of the room. A knife-throwing lesson was a great way to work up an appetite for dinner at Greengrass Manor after all.

* * *

For the third day in a row, Sirius and Remus were at the Granger House. They were currently in the sitting room with Tonks, and that was where Harry and Hermione found them with her parents when they arrived at six-thirty that evening. For some reason, Sirius was holding a towel.

"You planning on participating in some interstellar hitchhiking in the near future, Sirius?" Hermione asked, with a grin.

"Your mother said that exact same thing!" Sirius said, "What am I missing here?"

"Just a Muggle reference, Sirius," Hermione said. "Why are you carrying a towel?"

"It is a Portkey," Sirius said, "Castor Greengrass sent it by post to me just this afternoon. It will leave at precisely a quarter-to-seven and take us to the front yard of Greengrass Manor."

"It is probably best we use the backyard for Portkey travel," Remus said, "I'd hate on the off-chance that it ruins this lovely room."

"That rarely happens, Moony!" Sirius said, then cleared his throat when Remus glared at him. "Okay, it happened to us three times when we were teens. Backyard, it is!"

The large group talked about innocent things for a few minutes before they moved into the backyard. Hermione hugged her parents goodbye, and Mr. and Mrs. Granger wished Harry the best of luck. Sirius promised that Hermione, Harry and Tonks would be back home between nine and ten that evening. Then he spread out the towel, and the five magicals each took hold of the towel. Remus glanced at his pocket-watch and counted down the last ten seconds.

Harry felt the familiar pull on his navel, as he was lifted off his feet. A short time later, he landed on the ground, and did his best to remain standing. He knew the trick was to keep his feet moving and hit the ground running. He grinned to himself when he found he had remained standing, though very windswept. Near him, Hermione had also remained standing, as had Sirius and Remus. Tonks, however, had fallen on the ground. Hermione helped the older witch to her feet.

"Thanks, Hermione," Tonks said, as she waved her wand around her, vanishing grass and dirt, "Portkeys and clumsiness do not mix well."

Harry grinned and looked around at his surroundings. A few yards in front of him stood a large two-storied Victorian-style, white-wash manor-house known as Greengrass Manor. Sirius led the group across the grounds toward the front door of the house. When they arrived, a house-elf was waiting for them at the open door.

"Greetings, guests," the house-elf said, "My name is Petal, the Head Elf of Greengrass Manor. Welcome to the home of Castor Greengrass and his family."

"Thank you, Petal," the familiar voice of Daphne Greengrass said, "I'll take it from here. You may return to the kitchens."

The house-elf bowed and snapped her fingers, vanishing. Daphne appeared at the door.

"Greetings everyone," she said, with a smile, "Come on inside."

Harry smiled at Daphne as he lead the others inside.

"My family is in the dining room," Daphne said, "Follow me please."

Harry, Hermione and their group followed Daphne through a brightly-lit hallway. Soon, they entered an extravagantly decorated dining room. Castor Greengrass stood as soon as they entered.

"Greetings, everyone," Castor said, "Welcome to Greengrass Manor. Please be seated."

"Thank you, Lord Castor," Harry said.

"Please, I believe we can do away with formalities," Castor said, smiling, "Do call me Castor."

Harry sat down between Daphne and Hermione at the nearest side of the long table. Daphne's sister, Astoria, was sitting on her other side. On the other side of the table, Sirius, Remus and Tonks sat together.

"Allow me to introduce my wife, Illiana," Castor said; sitting down and smiling at his wife, who was sitting at the opposite end of the table.

Aside from their hair color, it was easy to see where the Greengrass girls got their looks. Illiana Greengrass had jet-black hair and piercing blue eyes. She was just as beautiful as her daughters.

"You know my daughters, of course," Castor said, "Daphne and Astoria. Though you might have only seen Astoria during mealtime in the Great Hall at Hogwarts."

Harry smiled in silent greeting. Astoria's cheeks colored a light pink when she smiled in his direction. As he was the reason they were there that evening, Harry decided he would introduce everyone who had come with him. Daphne and Astoria knew Remus, of course, as their Defense Professor. They seemed quite happy to see him again. When Harry introduced Tonks, she changed her hair to pink, before changing it back to black for the evening. Astoria giggled lightly at that.

"I am sorry I could not be present at your trial, Sirius," Illiana said. "I was here with my daughters at the time. I was quite happy to hear you were found innocent. My congratulations."

"Thank you, Illiana," Sirius said, "With complete hope that Castor does not take offense, may I say you have only grown more beautiful with age."

"Thank you, you old charmer," Illiana said, smiling; Castor simply seemed amused, as if he was not surprised at Sirius' antics, "Would anyone like something to drink, while we wait for dinner? We have iced tea, butterbeer and of course water."

"Butterbeer, please," Harry said.

As the others requested their drinks, Harry was rather surprised when a glass of chilled butterbeer appeared in front of him.

"Our house-elves are very good at what they do," Illiana said; obviously noting his surprise.

"Petal was very polite to us when we arrived," Harry said, "I can see your elves are very well-treated."

"Is that something you are supportive of?" Illiana asked, "Elf rights?"

"I know Hermione is rather supportive of it," Harry said, glancing at Hermione, "I'd be in trouble if I wasn't."

Several chuckles were heard around the table.

"I admit, when I first learned of house-elves," Hermione said, "My mind went directly to slavery, which I do oppose. But I've done my fair bit of research. While I would like to see elves gain freedom, I do realize that they like to work, and unfortunately _need _to have Masters and Mistresses to survive. I would like to see better Elf rights though in the future."

"In your research, did you read about the benefits of owning house-elves?" Illiana asked, "Aside from having them work for you?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you're referring to, ma'am," Hermione said.

Illiana smiled. "House-Elf magic has a benefit that is like a positive form of leeching. Most house-elf owners have one thing in common. Their residences have protective enchantments and Wards. When a house-elf uses their magic, a small percentage of it seeps into the ground, powering up the magic of protective enchantments which are anchored into the ground around the residence. The more house-elves you own, the stronger your wards are. However, if you own too many, you can overpower your wards which could be very bad. Similar to lightning. The air charges up, causing lightning. Sometimes lightning can cause damage."

"Too much magic could cause an outburst!" Hermione said.

"Yes," Illiana said, "It rarely ever happens amongst wand-users. It might happen in massive battles, but not in places like classrooms. It is just not charged constantly enough in a confined area. But it happens with house-elves and leeching."

"What about Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, "there are hundreds of house-elves in that castle, aren't there?"

"The castle has been around for more than a thousand years," Illiana said, "It can survive a lot of damage, physical and magical."

"The secret to taking down Hogwarts Castle's wards," Castor said, "Double the amount of house-elves. Not fool-proof, but it could happen."

"But most people look down upon house-elves, so they never think to use them that way," Remus said.

"What would it take to change house-elf rights?" Hermione asked, "I'm simply curious. Would the Great Alliance at full power be able to pass a law like that in the Wizengamot?"

"Possible," Castor said, "Though there are problems. Not every family in the Great Alliance would support your views on Elf rights at the moment. Then there is the fact that the Boots and MacMillans have practically broken away from the Great Alliance. One push in either direction would result in whether they stay in the Alliance or depart."

"I am planning on hosting a dinner party at Potter Manor in August for the Great Alliance," Harry said, "Would inviting the Boots and MacMillans swing them in a positive way?"

"It truly would," Castor said. "The reason they wish to search for new Alliances is because they believe the Great Alliance is dying out. They're sick of waiting around for you to take your place on the Potter seat in the Wizengamot."

"Well, I'll invite them to the dinner," Harry said, "But if they give me any reason to doubt their support in the Alliance, I'd show them door myself. What they're doing is shaming my Grandfather's memory."

Castor grinned. "I wholeheartedly agree and so would other Heads of Houses in the Alliance."

At that moment, Petal the house-elf popped back into the room.

"Dinner is served," she said.

And with a snap of her fingers, several dishes, and pots of various food appeared on the table. As Harry looked at it all, he realized there were several of his favorite foods that he usually ate at Hogwarts. He glanced at Daphne and Astoria and wondered if either of them paid attention to what he ate and had suggested it for dinner.

"Thank you, Petal," Illiana said; after Petal bowed and vanished, she continued, "Feel free to serve yourselves, everyone."

For a few minutes, the only noise at the table was the movement of dishes as those at the table filled their plates. When everyone's plates were filled, the discussion resumed.

"Castor," Harry said, "I'm rather curious as to why you accepted to Betroth me to your daughter. I mean no offense. I asked Xenophilius Lovegood the same thing. If Susan's parents were alive, I'd like have asked them the same question. I'm merely curious."

"No offense taken," Castor said, "It is an excellent question. There were several reasons. The first was that about a month before your father came to me with the proposition of uniting our families through the act of Betrothal, Lucius Malfoy came to me with the same idea. He wanted to Betroth Daphne to his son, Draco."

Daphne grimaced. "Thank goodness that didn't work out."

Castor smiled at his daughter. "The Greengrass Family has always been a Neutral Alliance, Harry. Lucius Malfoy tried his very hardest to convince me to leave the Neutral Alliance, and your Grandfather's Alliance, and join the Dark. He even offered me a large bride-price. I immediately saw it as a bribe. Draco was already Betrothed to Pansy Parkinson when Lucius met with me. Pansy would take the Lady Malfoy name. But Lucius seemed to be under the impression that Draco would have two titles to his name before he reached the age of majority."

He glanced at Sirius. "He was under the impression Draco would gain the title of Black."

"I'd use the phrase 'over my dead body', but dear Lucius would probably like that," Sirius said.

"He seemed to be under the impression," Castor said, "that Sirius' involvement in the Great War would lead to an early demise."

"But Lucius forgot one little thing," Sirius said, "On the off-chance I don't have children, I get to name an heir as the next Head of the Blacks. Lucius would argue, of course, that it would have to be in the Black bloodline as close as the last three generations, and believe has checkmated me. He seems to forget that your Grandmother Dorea was a Black before she was a Potter. That is two generations. Just because Draco is older than you by a little under two months does not mean he automatically becomes Head of the Blacks if I were to kick it without an heir of my loins."

"I knew that, of course," Castor said, "But even then, I wasn't going to take Lucius' offer. But I knew he would keep coming for me. Then came the day your father gave me a letter asking to Betroth my daughter to his son. Truth is, I accepted just so Lucius Malfoy could leave me alone. Sure, I also accepted because a marriage between my daughter and the grandson of the Alliance's founder would greatly help the Alliance. But I did it to rub dirt in Lucius' face."

"That didn't stop him though," Illiana said.

"No it did not," Castor said. "When Astoria was born, Lucius attempted to try to convince me to betroth his son to her. He didn't favor the Line Continuance Option, so he didn't agree. You see, James had already made the promise to me that Daphne would have one of the family's official titles. He just wasn't sure which and would leave that to his son to choose."

"Only the Peverell title is available," Harry said, "The title of Lady Potter was recently taken."

Daphne blinked. "Explain that, Harry. I know for a fact Susan and Luna are using a Line Continuance Option."

"When I informed you I had three Betrothal Contracts to my name," Harry said, "I was off by one. I didn't know that at the time."

"There's a fourth?" Daphne asked. "Who?"

Hermione raised her hand.

Daphne's eyes widened. "Alright. Now I am just more confused."

"Long story," Harry said, "My parents met Hermione's parents when she and I were little. Her mother was attacked by a wanna-be Death Eater trying to get into the ranks. Her father put a knife in his spine. My father, and Sirius, were the Aurors on duty. Friendships were created, my parents worried for the Grangers' well-being. A few months later, a Betrothal Contract was signed so the Grangers could be placed under protection of my House. We only learned of this very recently."

"Somebody decided to modify my memories along with Hermione's parents," Sirius said. "That is another long story that needs more answers before we can get into it."

"As of yesterday, Hermione and I are Betrothed," Harry said.

"A Muggleborn Betrothal," Daphne said, "Now I've heard everything. Why does everything seem to happen to you, Potter?"

"Daphne!" Illiana said, in a scolding tone, "Manners, young lady!"

"It is okay, ma'am," Harry said, "I find myself asking the same question all the time."

Astoria giggled and quickly covered her mouth. Illiana looked rather offended at the manners of her daughters, but Castor looked amused.

"Daphne, does the title of 'Lady Peverell' sound favorable to you?" Castor asked.

"Yes, Father," Daphne said, "I would be honored to take that legendary name and pass it on to my children."

"Good," Castor said, "Then that part is settled. With that, I suppose we should move our conversation to the Betrothal Contract. I suppose we should discuss the official sections of the Betrothal Contract. If Daphne was my only daughter, the Line Continuance Option, originally penned in the Contract written between myself and James Potter, would have come into effect. But that can go to Astoria when it is her time to marry. She doesn't have a Betrothal Contract in her name."

"Lucky me," Astoria said, grinning.

Castor smiled. "I assume you do not wish to be married until after you finish your education?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said.

"Very well," Castor said, "If you agree, I would like to propose that you be married to my daughter before or on the day of her nineteenth birthday. That would give you plenty of time after leaving Hogwarts to prepare for the wedding."

"Xenophilius Lovegood mentioned that idea of a joint wedding between me and all my Betrothed," Harry said, "He would even allow Luna to marry before she enter her seventh year at Hogwarts. I have a feeling I would favor that idea."

"Well, it would be your decision, of course," Castor said, "Do you know what it means to be a First Wife?"

"No, sir," Harry said.

Sirius swore under his breath. "I knew I had forgotten something! I should have seen this coming, due to the multiple future brides. Please do the honors, Castor."

"Of course," Castor said. "First Wife is a term given to one specific wife in a marriage with multiple wives. The First Wife would in a sense, be the leader, of her sister-wives. She would be the first wife – where the term comes from – that is introduced during social parties. Also, thanks to a Ritual – which I will not describe now because it is not fit for a dinner table – the First Wife holds a sort of enchantment over her wives. You see, her sister-wives cannot get pregnant unless she gives them express permission first. That is so she can choose whether or not to have her husband's first child. Aside from that, there isn't much to it, unless other options are decided amongst the husband and wives."

"I see," Harry said, "Well, I suppose that won't matter for a few years. But I think I'd leave that decision to my Betrothed to figure out who would have that role."

"Probably best," Castor said. "That brings us to the topic of children. As there is not a Line Continuance Option, I see no reason to have a deadline when to expect the first child, or number of children. That will be up to the two of you."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said.

"I assume you want children, Harry?" Illiana asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, "I didn't grow up in a good family. Because of this, I have a great desire for family. I can see now I'll likely be getting that. I already have a good surrogate family."

Illiana smiled, quite satisfied at this answer.

"I believe we can end that part of the conversation there," Castor said, "I'll just require your signature on the Contract made penned by your father and I. That can be done before you leave. Is there any issues you have?"

"No, sir," Harry said, "Though I do have a question. As you know, I am now a Lord. I will be living in the Lord's Quarters at Hogwarts. Both Hermione and Luna have already agreed to live in my quarters, and their parents agreed. I simply wish for my Betrothed to live there so we can get to know each other. May make it easier in the long run. Practice for when it becomes official, you could say. I just need your permission to invite Daphne to the Lord's Quarters. Professor McGonagall required it."

Castor looked at Daphne then his wife. Illiana gave a short nod.

"I'll allow it," Castor said.

"Thanks, Daddy," Daphne said.

Throughout the rest of dinner and dessert, more innocent topics were discussed. Castor and Illiana wanted to know more about Harry and Hermione and their personal lives. The Greengrasses also discussed their plans for holiday.

"When do you plan to return to England?" Harry asked.

"First week of August," Castor said.

"I asked because I'm trying to figure out when I should schedule the dinner party for the Great Alliance," Harry said. "The only conclusion I've come to is it will definitely be before the finals of the Quidditch World Cup. Hermione and I, and possibly others, will be in France for my birthday at the end of July."

"Once we are back in England, I could try to round up the Great Alliance," Castor said, "If everyone is in England, I'll let you know, so it would be easier to plan an exact date."

"That would be a lot of help, thank you," Harry said.

"I can see this party is meant to be mostly a surprise for the Great Alliance," Castor said.

"Only my friends and Betrothed and their families will know," Harry said, "I think it would be best. A surprise party in which topics about the Great Alliance is discussed may be more beneficial if I didn't give everyone time to prepare a story."

"It would ensure honesty," Castor said, "A very good plan. And here I thought you didn't like politics."

"I guess I must change my views since it fell into my lap," Harry said.

Several chuckles were heard.

Castor smiled. "You'll fit right in at the Wizengamot Council. Of course, you need a Proxy when you reintroduce your House to the Council at the Winter Solstice Session. Emancipated or not, nobody under seventeen is allowed on the Council."

"Sirius?" Harry asked. "I'm aware this may not be the right place or time."

"Nonsense," Sirius said, "I'll be happy to be the Proxy for the Potter and Peverell seats. I have to reinstate my House in December anyway."

"I think we'll get along quite well, Harry," Castor said, "You make decisions quickly, but still put a lot of thought into it. Good man."

Harry smiled. He liked Castor. For the father of one of his Betrothed, he was someone Harry could get along with quite well. And so the conversation went on. Halfway through dessert, Astoria wanted to see more of Tonks' talents. Laughter was heard around the table as Tonks turned her nose into different shapes including that of a duckbill and pig snout.

"Daphne," Illiana said, when dessert was done, "How about you escort Harry and Hermione to the sitting room and talk amongst yourselves? Astoria, I want you to leave your sister and her friends alone."

Astoria pouted but nodded.

"Harry, I'll have that Contract ready by the time you leave," Castor said, as Harry stood with Hermione and Daphne.

Harry nodded in understanding and left the kitchen with Hermione and Daphne. Daphne led them into the sitting room which looked homely and comfortable. A nice hearth brought firelight and crackling noises into the atmosphere of the room.

"Daphne," Harry said, "What do you think I should do about Tracey? I can't exactly ask her parents permission to let her stay in the Lord's Quarters without giving a reason why."

"Let me take care of that," Daphne said. "Tracey and I have plans this summer to reveal our secret to our families. I'll let you know at your dinner party whether or not to ask Tracey's parents permission."

"Alright," Harry said.

"Something I failed to ask you ever since we discovered we're Betrothed," Daphne said, "How did you feel when you discovered I would be one of your future wives?"

"I decided to keep an open mind," Harry said. "Yes, I was wary at first because you are a Slytherin and I'm a Gryffindor. But my experiences with Slytherins revolves around four things: Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle."

Daphne snorted. "I completely understand. One meeting with them, and you can't help but get a bad opinion of the Slytherin House. I'm nothing like them, I promise."

"A pleasant, nice, friendly Slytherin," Harry said. "A year ago, I might have thought that was impossible."

Harry was quite surprised when Daphne gave her first genuine smile of the night.

"Wow, Harry," Daphne said, "I never heard you crack a joke before."

"You just don't know me," Harry said, grinning, "I can see it was a mistake that I never took the opportunity to speak to you in the past. Of course, you could blame that on Ron Weasley."

Daphne snorted again. "Weasley – I never understood how either of you could be friends with him. Around someone like him, I can't blame you for being anti-Slytherin. I am sure he convinced you my house bred Death Eaters."

"The day I met him – he told me there wasn't a Slytherin who didn't go bad," Harry said. "I can now say he was wrong. Of course, not all Gryffindors are good guys either. Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor, after all. I hope you're not biased around all Weasleys. There are a few good ones."

"The twins are an interesting pair," Daphne said, "Their sister, though... she has a mad fancy for you, Harry."

"She wrote me a letter this morning," Harry said, "She's going to try to get over me and gives her best wishes to me and my Betrothed."

Daphne raised an eyebrow. "I'll believe that when I see it. You're a part of my life now. I'm not going to let just any girl flirt with you."

"Would you be open to the thought of Harry having more than four wives?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione!" Harry groaned. "Where did that come from? I haven't even considered that idea."

"I know you have an interest in at least one girl you're not Betrothed to," Hermione said.

Harry spluttered. "I-I don't want to talk about it right now. We'll talk about this later."

"I suppose I would be open to it," Daphne said, shrugging. "Tracey and I have talked about what would happen when I marry Harry. What if she and I are still together? She's talked about being my Mistress. When she spoke of that, I asked her what would happen if she wanted a child of her own. And she – well -"

She hesitated. Hermione detected this. "What did she say?"

"She said she wouldn't say no if Harry offered to father her child or children," Daphne said.

Harry's eyes widened.

"She said it was only one option," Daphne said, "She and I might not be together by the time I marry you, anyway."

"I'll simply say we'll see what happens if it comes to it," Harry said, "How would a Mistress work anyway?"

"There isn't an official process to having a Mistress," Daphne said, "She'd basically be my unofficial live-in wife if you allowed it. Basically my girlfriend on the side. Several men and women in society have them. Most don't even make their spouses aware they have them. As you said, we'll see what happens if it comes to it. I suppose you want to know my opinion of this Betrothal?"

"Sure," Harry said.

"I've known since I was a little girl that I was part of a Betrothal Contract," Daphne said, "Most purebloods grow up knowing they might be Betrothed. I just didn't know who my future husband was going to be. My parents assured me it wasn't Draco Malfoy. But they wouldn't tell me who it was. Now that I understand it is you, I suppose they didn't want me to think of myself as the future wife of the most famous boy in wizarding Great Britain. Maybe they feared it would give me a big head. Still, before they told me, I wondered if it would be a fellow student in Slytherin. I feared it might even be someone older than I. There's a lot of ugly trolls in that house. Every time a bloke hit on me, I feared they'd be my future husband by contract.

"I was completely surprised when I found out it was you. First, because I thought I wouldn't know about the identity of my Betrothed until I was at least sixteen. Before I found out it was you, but knew I was in a Contract, I deduced it was someone who had reached majority, and thought my fear of it being someone older than I would come true. I realized you had achieved your Lordship. The second reason I was surprised was because – well – if I was to be married to any of the Children of the Alliance, I never thought it would be you. Boot and MacMillan are prats. Longbottom would have been my second choice if it wasn't you. At least he is a nice boy. A bit timid and shy, but nice. Longbottom is a good House to be a part of."

"And now that you know it is Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Fine," Daphne said, "I shamefully admit I might have been one of your fan-girls, Potter, very briefly during our first year. Albeit a silent one. I had a reputation to protect. Then I realized that wasn't something you wanted. Then I saw you take on Draco at the first Flying Lesson, then heard how you saved Hermione from the troll. Then I saw how good you were at Quidditch. I admit, with great reluctance, I had a fancy for you, more than a simple fan-girl would. Something that embarrassed me. A Slytherin actually crushing on the Gryffindor Golden Boy? Sure there were Slytherin girls who liked you, but only because of your fame. I had a real fancy."

"I suppose if I had to pick a Slytherin bride, you'd be my first choice," Harry said.

Daphne grinned. "Lucky for you, it happened to fall that way. I find it quite ironic... and hilarious... that you have a girl from all four Houses as one of your Betrothed."

"I see it as a perfect start to unite the Houses," Hermione said.

Daphne snorted. "Fat chance."

"I must agree with Daphne here, Hermione," Harry said.

"I'm not talking about immediate results," Hermione said.

"Results is the only word I hear," Daphne said, "Take it from a Slytherin. I know of only three people in our year, in my house, who would favor House Unity: me, Tracy, and Blaise Zabini. Everybody else – I repeat, fat chance. Give up on it. Three out of four ain't bad. Even then, you aren't going to get everyone in on it."

Hermione sighed. "Fine."

"You have a good heart, Hermione," Daphne said, "And a brain everyone in our year in Slytherin – but would never admit it - and even several Ravenclaws are jealous of. Use them for other goals. You'll go farther and – no offense – live longer."

Hermione nodded. The three kids continued their discussion with more get-to-know-you questions. About an hour after Harry entered the sitting room, Sirius, Remus and Tonks came in with Daphne's parents.

"Alright, Daphne," Castor said, "I think it is time for Harry and Hermione to head home. Hermione's parents are probably sitting around and waiting for them. But first, I have the Contract you both need to sign."

Castor set the Contract on the coffee table, and took a Blood Quill from his robes.

"I was given permission from my Vault Keeper to use this for the Contract signing," he said, "Aside from Contracts, it is illegal to use otherwise."

Harry, then Daphne, signed the Contract, which soon shone a bright golden color.

"Very well," Castor said, "Daphne, Harry, you are officially Betrothed."

"Say good night to your friends, Daphne," Illiana said, "They need to be going."

Daphne glanced at Harry and hesitated slightly. She then kissed him on the cheek. Harry glanced at Hermione, and she merely rolled her eyes.

"Good night, Harry," she said, "Hermione."

"Good night, Daphne," Harry said.

Hermione echoed him and Daphne left the room. Harry turned to his hosts.

"Lord Castor," Harry said, "Lady Illiana. Thank you for inviting us into your home this evening. I will return the favor before the end of the summer."

"We look forward to it, Lord Potter," Castor said. "Thank you for an entertaining evening."

The others said their goodbyes, and Harry and his group made their way back to the front grounds. Sirius had another towel. The group each touched the Portkey and vanished, returning to Crawley and the Granger House.

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**Chapter finished. Not my longest chapter ever, but the longest in this story. It would have been EVEN longer (or split into two chapters) if I had added Harry and Hermione's visit to his Vault. So that might be a deleted scene in the future.**

**A lot of interesting things happened in this chapter. I hope you liked the conversation with Daphne, and that this chapter answered some questions when it came to Tracey. In case you're wondering, Astoria will NOT be in the Harem. She's only going to be a second year in this story. I have no clue what will happen to her in the case of romance.**

**This chapter teased a lot of things, especially the Great Alliance social dinner at Potter Manor. That won't come for several chapters. We still have all of July – AKA, the month of Assassinations! - and some of August to get through. Also, I am sure the discussion about house-elves interested you. It has a lot to do with the future of this story.**

**Next chapter: Harry and Hermione leave Crawley. Then they go to Grimmauld Place, confront the Locket Horcrux, and go to Potter Manor.**

**Hope you liked this LONG chapter!**


	32. Return to Grimmauld Place

**Chapter 32  
Return to Grimmauld Place**

**Author's Note: As of Chapter 31, this story has become my most reviewed story. My most reviewed story prior to this – Bonds of Time II – was 100+ chapters. This story surpassed that story in reviews in merely 31 chapters! I am completely amazed, and very thankful for the response this story has gotten. Thanks to all you who have given me reviews for this story.**

* * *

**Wednesday, June 26th, 1994**

An hour after Harry, Hermione and Tonks returned to the Granger house, Harry was in his bedroom reading Susan's response to his invitation – in which she heartily accepted – and preparing for bed when he heard a knock on the door. Hermione stepped into the room once invited. She left the door open and sat down on the bed beside him.

"We need to talk, Harry," Hermione said.

"If this is about Daphne kissing me on my cheek," Harry began.

"It isn't, Harry," Hermione cut in, "I don't mind if you're intimate with your other Betrothed. She could have kissed you on the lips, and I'd be fine with it. She's basically you're fiancee after all, as am I."

"Then what's this about?" Harry asked; then he realized exactly why she wanted to talk to him, "Is this about you asking Daphne if she'd be alright with me having more than four wives?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "I know you think you're trying to protect me, or keep me happy. But I'm well aware of your current infatuation outside your Betrothed. Harry, I know you fancy Tonks."

"So what if I do?" Harry asked, "She's what – nearly twenty? If you had forgotten, I'll once again be turning fourteen in about a month -"

"Mentally you're seventeen or eighteen," Hermione said, "She knows that. Also, starting sometime in August until June of next year she's going to be posing as a fourteen year old."

"So what?" Harry asked, "We both know it isn't going to go anywhere. She fancies Remus! They'll get married and have – why are you shaking your head?"

"I don't think it will work out that way, Harry," Hermione said, "That happened last time, and only because they fell in love while working together in the Order. She's beginning to fall in love with somebody else."

Harry stared at Hermione. It took half-a-minute for him to realize what she meant.

"She fancies me?" he asked.

"Yes, you oblivious idiot," Hermione said, rolling her eyes, "It is mostly your fault. Every time you take a shower, you walk out in naught but a towel and she's usually waiting for her turn. Lately she's done it just to catch you and take a peek. Also she was watching you at the swimming pool when you weren't watching her. She admitted that to me. At first she felt bad about it, and felt like sort of a creep, because she thought she fancied a young teen. Now she knows you're mentally older. Well, she's still confused about her feelings. I have a feeling it will be easier for her when she's posing as a fourteen year old, because that is sort of what you'll be doing, and she'll understand that. Look at me, Harry."

Harry had been staring off into space trying to wrap his mind around what Hermione had been telling him. He looked back at her.

"I'm not telling you to go downstairs right now and snog her until she can't breathe," Hermione said. "Nor am I telling you to do it tomorrow or in the near future. If I was in your position, I'd let things work naturally. I'm just telling you not to ignore your feelings. We both did that last time. We could have been a couple a long time ago if we hadn't ignored our feelings."

"Why are you okay with me being interested in Tonks?" Harry asked, "I'm Betrothed to you and three other girls. Isn't that enough?"

"I'd feel selfish if I was against it," Hermione said, "You need all the love you can get, and if you fancy her, good for you. What's one or two more witches when you're marrying four?"

"Less time for you to spend with me," Harry said.

"I doubt it," Hermione said, with an uncharacteristic snort, "You could easily have two or more girls in your bed at night. When you're older, of course."

Harry coughed and felt his cheeks go warm. Hermione giggled and leaned toward him and pecked him on the lips. He deepened the kiss and she grinned against his lips and returned it. She backed away nearly a minute later.

"As much as I would love to continue that right now," she said, "Mum or Daddy could walk in. On Saturday, that won't be a problem. I'm going to bed. Good night. I love you, Harry, and I'll love you even if you fall in love with other women, at least those whom I approve of. Please think about what I said."

"Okay," Harry said. "And I love you too. No matter what else happens."

Hermione smiled and pecked him on the lips again. She stood and walked out of the room. Harry turned off the lamp next to his bed, set his glasses on the bedside table, and was soon asleep. That night he dreamed of Hermione and the rest of his future wives. Somehow Tonks had made an appearance too.

* * *

The two days leading up to Saturday, when Harry and Hermione would be leaving the Granger House and going to Potter Manor, passed by rather quickly.

Harry was determined not to add any awkwardness to his friendship with Tonks, now that he knew she fancied him. He decided to take Hermione's advice and let things between him and Tonks progress naturally. Hermione had been right about him; he had been oblivious about Tonks. Now that he knew she was interested, he did notice her watching him. On Thursday, he had even volunteered for her to take a shower first and couldn't help but notice her slight disappointment. It made him chuckle when she was out of his sight or hearing range. He figured he would have a bit of fun before he worked up the courage to talk about things with her.

Possible budding romances aside, Harry dedicated most of the last two days in the Granger House for the summer focusing on Hermione and her parents. He, Hermione and Dan spent four hours on both days in the basement practicing knife-throwing. By the time their training was finished on Friday, both Harry and Hermione had graduated from hay-bales to the mannequin and were even able to nail the mannequin from a short distance away in several locations. Dan was thrilled with their progress in such a short time and made them promise they would keep working on it at Potter Manor. It was easy for Harry to promise that; he wanted to make sure he was well-trained in knife-throwing at a mannequin before he began his assassination mission with Hermione and their group. After all, the skill would likely come in very useful.

Hermione spent a lot of time with her parents leading up to Saturday. Friday afternoon, during a brief session of Occlumency practice on the hammock in the backyard, Harry noticed Hermione was more quiet than usual. Harry thought it was because she was leaving home for the summer. So when he asked her about it, she admit to him that her mother had given her the Sex Talk earlier that afternoon after putting it off for the entire time they had been there.

"It was worse than last time," Hermione commented, under the privacy of a Muffliato Charm, "Mum knows I am going to be one of four wives – at least. Last time she merely talked to me about boys, and a woman's so-called 'duties' with them. This time she added a new topic into the conversation. She asked me if I planned on being intimate with any of my future sister-wives."

Harry blinked and stared at her. "And... what did you say?"

"I merely said it was a possibility," Hermione said, "I couldn't say 'no', then down the road it happens. We have a long future ahead of us with your other Betrothed. It could happen! Anyway, I learned something about my mother I never would have thought about her. She experimented with the same sex in secondary school. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't be surprised. She didn't seem offended when Tonks talked about her own experiences in the same thing."

"I had noticed that," Harry said, nodding.

"Overall," Hermione said, "Let's just say the conversation was more awkward and informational than the last time I had the talk with her."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Harry asked.

"Both," Hermione said, "Definitely both. And that is all I'll comment on anything to do with me being intimate with girls for the immediate future."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said, earning a peck on the lips, then an order to return to his Occlumency training.

On Friday evening, Emma fixed a big dinner as sort of a farewell party for Harry, Hermione and Tonks. The trio would be leaving early the following morning with Sirius and Remus. Emotions were high between all three Grangers. As far as Dan and Emma knew, this was the first time Hermione would be away from her parents for the majority of the summer.

* * *

**Saturday, June 29****th****, 1994**

Not even leaving the Granger House and Crawley deterred Tonks from insisting that Harry and Hermione join her on their traditional jog around the neighborhood. So early Saturday morning, Harry woke with the alarm and joined Hermione and Tonks as they went on their normal routine. After his shower, in which Harry once again found Tonks waiting in the upstairs corridor for him to finish, he made his way back into the guest bedroom and dressed into an outfit, mindful of what he would be doing that day.

After he dressed, he began packing his belongings into his Undetectable Extension Bag. By the time he finished, only his wand, pocket-knife – Dan had drilled him and Hermione into making sure they always had it on them - Invisibility Cloak, a basilisk fang, Hedwig's cage and the Portkey to Potter Manor – a large boot – was not packed. He would place Hedwig's cage in the bag before they left the Granger House. Hedwig would be flying to Northampton. Hopefully by the time she arrived, she would be able to find Potter Manor which would be lax of any alien enchantments upon Harry's arrival.

He brought the Undetectable Extension Bag to Hermione's room and found her sitting on her bed as she packed a box of clothes. He could see the mixed emotions on her face.

"You can stay here longer if you wish, Hermione," Harry said, "I'm not making you leave with me."

"And leave you to snog Tonks in my absence?" Hermione asked, grinning.

Harry blushed red and shrugged. "Only if I missed you too much."

"Prat!" Hermione retorted, chuckling. "You would miss me and I'd certainly miss you. I'm going with you, Harry. We have a lot to do this summer, and I can't do any of it stuck here with my parents."

"True," Harry said. "I was merely saying that I'd be okay with it if it were your choice to stay here longer. I knew what your choice would be, but I still mentioned it."

"Thank you," Hermione said, "That means a lot to me. Are you finished packing?"

"Everything but Hedwig's cage," Harry said, "Which I'll add before we leave. She's flying to Northampton."

Hermione huffed. "I wish Crookshanks could fly. He hated Grimmauld Place when we went there last time. Even if I do keep him in his carrier, which I will, he'll raise a fuss."

"We won't be there very long," Harry said, "We'll go in, get the locket, destroy it, and get out."

"We're destroying the locket there?" Hermione asked. "We're not just going to give it to Ragnok so he can do it safely?"

"I think Kreacher would like to see it get destroyed," Harry said, "It haunted him so much."

Hermione nodded. "Didn't think about that. Good idea."

Harry smiled and handed her the bag. He stayed with her as she packed to give her moral support. He could tell she was still emotional about leaving her parents.

Breakfast was a quiet and rather somber affair. Dan and Emma talked about returning to work on Monday, as well as plans for a romantic getaway for just the two of them later in the summer, commenting that it would be the first time on holiday without Hermione in several years`. Harry thought this might upset Hermione even more, but her mood improved as she listened. He could tell she was happy for her parents.

Shortly before breakfast ended, Sirius and Remus appeared. Emma offered them the extra leftovers, which they accepted happily. As Sirius and Remus ate breakfast, this gave Harry, Hermione and Tonks time to finish packing. Harry had offered to put Tonks' belongings in his bag, but it turned out she had a similar bag of her own.

Harry fed Hedwig a handful of owl treats, then allowed her to affectionately nip on his fingers.

"You have a long fly ahead of you, girl," Harry said, "You're going up to Northampton, to Potter Manor, our new home. I will try to be there by the time you arrive. If you're there before me, you might not be able to see Potter Manor, so just fly around until you... sense me, or whatever it is you do. Understand?"

Hedwig nodded her head. Harry smiled and stroked her feathers.

"I'll see you soon," he said, "Go on then. Safe travels. It is a cloudless day, so do try to stay out of sight of Muggles."

Hedwig hooted then took flight out the window and into the sky. Harry placed Hedwig's cage in the bag, and took one glance around the room to make sure he wasn't missing anything. When he found nothing, he placed his Cloak, the Basilisk Fang and Portkey in the pocket of his robes, then pocketed his wand and pocket-knife in his jeans, and made his way downstairs. Hermione, Tonks, Sirius, Remus and Hermione's parents were waiting for him. Hermione was hugging her parents with misty eyes. Dan extended a hand when he saw Harry. Harry immediately shook it.

"Before this summer, there was only one man whom I trusted with my daughter's life," Dan said, "You're looking at him. Now there are two. You've earned that spot. Don't make me regret that trust."

"I promise not to, sir," Harry said.

"Keep training with your knife," Dan said, "and you'll double the distance and speed in no time against a mannequin – hell, against a human being too if it ever had to come to that."

"I will, sir," Harry said.

"Now that I remember your father," Dan said, "I am happy to say you remind me of him. In appearance and a bunch of other good stuff. Those eyes are your mother's, however. Anyone ever tell you that?"

"Several people," Harry chuckled.

"Well, they're right," Dan said.

Harry smiled and turned to Emma. He was rather surprised when she enveloped him in a hug.

"Your parents would be so proud of you," she said, "Take care of my daughter, will you?"

"I promise," Harry said.

"Write to us this summer," Emma said, as she backed away from Harry, and looked at him and her daughter, "Both of you."

"We will, Mum," Hermione said. "And I promise to see you before I return to Hogwarts."

"Better get going then," Emma said. "We'll see you soon."

"Remember where Grimmauld Place is, cousin?" Sirius asked.

"Yep!" Tonks replied.

"You're in charge of taking Harry and Hermione there," Sirius said, "I'll take Crookshanks, Hermione. I know how to deal with rambunctious animals due to Apparation."

Hermione nodded and handed Crookshanks' carrier to Sirius.

"I'll go first," Remus said, "If I am not back in one minute, it is clear to go."

Remus vanished in front of them. As they waited, Harry and Hermione took Tonks' hands. A minute later, when Remus hadn't returned, they gave one last goodbye to the Grangers, before the entrance hall vanished around them. Soon they were standing in front of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Harry grimaced as he looked up at the large building. So many memories of this place. Not all of them good. Sirius appeared a few moments later.

"Have you been here since you left Azkaban?" Harry asked him.

"Nope," Sirius said, "I preferred to avoid the place."

"We better be careful then," Hermione said, "The place could be infested with Dark creatures."

"Nothing worse than the house-elf," Sirius muttered.

"Sirius!" Hermione reprimanded, "Please don't be mean to him. Between the locket haunting the house, your mother corrupting him, and years of solitude, it has played with his head. Treat him right, please. You're the Head of the Blacks. Let him know it."

"I'm not sure you're correct, but alright," Sirius said.

"We need to let him know why we're here," Harry said, "Once he realizes were going to do the one thing he hasn't been able to do, and wanted to, I think he'll behave."

"Fine," Sirius muttered, "Let's just get this over with."

Sirius led the group toward the house, and they made their way up the stairs to the front door. Sirius revealed his Black Family Signet ring, and tapped it against the doorknob. A mechanical sound was heard, as the door unlocked. Sirius opened the door took a slow step inside, then another. He nodded quietly to the others, who followed him inside. Tonks closed the door… which shut rather loudly. Harry cursed silently, knowing what was probably coming next.

He was right.

"WHO DARES DISTURB THE NOBLE AND MOST ANCIENT HOUSE OF BLACK!"a voice shrieked loudly down the hallway.

"Shit," Harry cursed, "I was hoping we could keep her quiet.. Come on!"

"Harry, wait!" Sirius said, as Harry and Hermione hurried forward toward the stairs, "That sounds like – it can't be – it sounds like… Mum."

For Sirius had seen what Harry and Hermione were now looking at too. Walburga Black's portrait was curtain-less at the moment, and she was standing up in her portrait, her bloodshot eyes wide.

"YOOOU!" Mrs. Black shrieked when she saw Sirius, "YOU FILTHY BLOOD-TRAITOR! ABOMINATION OF MY WOMB! YOU DARE RETURN TO THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK!"

"Hullo, Mum," Sirius said, "You look well… for a dead person."

"Hello, Auntie Walburga," Tonks said, her hair turning from black to pink.

Mrs. Black's eyes widened as she looked at Tonks. "YOU! YOU HALF-BLOOD WHORE OF A BLOOD TRAITOR -"

"SHUT UP!" Sirius growled. "You will not talk to her like that. Mother, I am the Head of the Blacks now. I command you to be silent!"

Mrs. Black looked as if she was going to yell again. Harry sighed and waved his wand toward the portrait. A brass rod appeared at the top of the portrait, and thick black curtains hung on each side. Harry slammed them shut and Mrs. Black went silent.

"I should have known she would have placed a portrait in here," Sirius said, with a sigh, "I bet it is placed with a Permanent Sticking Charm, isn't –?"

"Why were you screaming, my Mistress?" a gravelly, deep voice croaked from down the hall, "Was it those damned doxies again? I'm sorry, Mistress, they are pests."

"Speaking of pest," Sirius muttered, stepping down into the corridor.

Harry looked down the corridor as the ancient house-elf Kreacher stared back, his droopy, blood-shot eyes wide as they looked at Sirius.

"Hello, Kreacher," Sirius said, "Long time, no see."

"Master Sirius has returned to the Noble and Ancient House of Black," Kreacher muttered, "The blood-traitor has returned. Oh, my poor Mistress, Kreacher knows now why she screamed. Master Sirius is not alone. Is this the one they call Harry Potter?"

"Kreacher," Sirius said, before the elf could insult anyone else. "It seems you have been putting off your duties your Masters and Mistresses have set upon you. This house is filthy."

"Mistress ordered Kreacher to keep it so," Kreacher said. "Ordered Kreacher to keep it so in case the blood-traitor brats of the Black Family ever wished to return. Mistress ordered Kreacher to keep the doxies and boggarts and quintapeds at bay but alive –"

"My dear mother set me up a homecoming present!" Sirius laughed, then shook his head, "This could be a problem. All right, Harry, where is this – err –"

He looked at Kreacher; apparently Sirius didn't want to speak of the locket with Kreacher nearby.

"Where is this object we are looking for?" he asked.

"Kreacher wonders what this object Master speaks of," Kreacher grunted, "Mistress would not like the blood-traitor brat stealing her valuables. No, she would not like that at all –"

"We're here for the locket, Kreacher," Harry said.

Kreacher's eyes widened into saucers before they narrowed.

"How does the brat know about Master Regulus' locket?" he asked.

"We know all about it Kreacher," Harry said, "I'm here to destroy it. I know exactly how to do it."

"Lead us to the locket, Kreacher," Sirius said, "Now."

Kreacher muttered under his breath and turned around. He led the group through the corridor until they reached the sitting room. Harry immediately spotted the glass case and found Slytherin's Locket inside, along with several other items."

"Are there any defenses set in this room to guard the locket?" Harry asked.

"Answer him, Kreacher," Sirius said.

"Kreacher placed several defenses when he couldn't destroy the locket," Kreacher said.

"Disable them," Sirius said, "All of them. Now."

Kreacher walked around the room and snapped his fingers several times.

"Kreacher has disabled all the defenses," he said.

"Are we destroying the locket here?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Kreacher, please retrieve the locket and set it on the center of the floor," Sirius said.

Kreacher did as was told. Harry watched as the elf gingerly retrieved the locket from the cabinet, then turned and walked over to the center of the room. He set it on the floor, and backed away from it. Harry retrieved the Basilisk fang from his pocket and cleared his throat.

"Okay," Harry said, "I have to use Parseltongue to open the locket. I have to be concentrating on that, so I won't be able to focus on destroying the Locket. Someone else needs to do it."

"I will," Sirius said, immediately. "For Regulus."

"Okay," Harry said, "Listen to me very clearly. When the locket opens, stab it. Immediately. You don't want to let it use its defenses. No matter what you see, or hear, in front of you, or in your head. Once you stab it, back away quickly. Understand?"

"Got it, kid," Sirius said. "Stab it straight away. Don't waste time. Ignore all voices in my head but my own. Get the hell out of there. Got it."

Harry handed the fang to Sirius. Sirius cleared his throat and walked over to the locket, then knelt down in front of it. Sirius held the butt of the fang with both hands above the locket. He looked at Harry, and nodded quietly.

Harry cleared his throat again, and closed his eyes, concentrating. Then he opened them and stared at the locket, picturing the jeweled snake as a real serpent.

_§I command you to open_§ Harry hissed, staring only at the locket.

The locket's tiny door opened, revealing its innards. It could only vibrate against the floor for a mere moment, before Sirius slammed the fang into its innards. Harry and Sirius backed away from the locket, as across the room, Hermione, Tonks and Remus each summoned a shield; one that blocked Harry, one that blocked Sirius, and one that blocked them from anything the locket might do. The locket emitted a piercing shriek, bringing Harry back to his senses in time to see the black ooze seeping from it.

"Is the cursed thing destroyed?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, "Just the snake and Voldemort left. Good job. Everyone. Great teamwork."

Kreacher chose that moment to sink to the floor and start sobbing.

"Kreacher thanks you, Master Sirius, Harry Potter," Kreacher croaked, "You did what Kreacher failed to do. Kreacher hopes that Master Regulus forgives Kreacher."

"I am sure he does, Kreacher," Sirius said.

"Would you like to keep the Locket, Kreacher?" Harry asked, "The curse inside it is gone."

"No, Harry Potter," Kreacher said, "Remove the vile object from the home of my Masters and Mistress."

"Okay," Harry said.

"Kreacher," Sirius said, "I want you to clean this house completely. Make it look respectable again. I do not know when I will return. But when I do, I wish to come back to a home a Black can be proud of. Scratch that, a home I can be proud of."

"Yes, Master Sirius," Kreacher said, "Kreacher does as his Master obeys."

"And please remove my mother's portrait from the entrance hall," Sirius said, "Place it in the Corridor with the other portraits where she can converse with the Blacks who went before her."

"Yes, Master Sirius," Kreacher said.

"We are leaving now, Kreacher," Sirius said. "Before you begin your chores, can you please charm this room so that it won't be destroyed when we Portkey and Apparate from it?"

Kreacher snapped his fingers. "It is done, Master Sirius."

"You may go," Sirius said, then sighed, "Kreacher? Thank you for what you did today."

Kreacher bowed, then vanished from the room. Harry walked over to the locket, gingerly picked it up and pocketed it. Then he removed the Portkey from his pocket.

"Time to go home," Harry said.

Hermione, Sirius, Tonks and Remus made their way over to him, and each placed a finger on the boot that was the Portkey.

"Everyone ready?" Harry asked; they all nodded, "Three, two, one. To Potter Manor!"

Harry felt the familiar tug on his navel, as Grimmauld Place vanished around him.

* * *

**Yep. Decided to end it there. Thought it was a decent place for a stopping point. One Horcrux to go!**

**Next Chapter: Welcome to Potter Manor.**

**Hope you liked this Chapter. Once again, thank you all for the amazing response to this story. Seriously, I can't thank you enough. This story is my most popular story to date, and there's still a long way to go!**


	33. Welcome To Potter Manor

**Chapter 33  
Welcome To Potter Manor**

**Saturday, June 29****th****, 1994**

Harry Potter touched down on a gravel road and kept his feet moving, in order to remain upright. Around him, Hermione, Sirius and Remus landed on their feet. Once again, Tonks landed hard on her backside with a squeak and a scowl, before pulling herself to her feet. In his cat carrier, Crookshanks was not a happy kitty. Hermione took the carrier from Sirius and comforted her cat with cooing sounds.

Harry took his first look at his surroundings, and what he found was unexpected. He expected to see a large manor-house in front of him, or at least a driveway leading toward it. What he found was a large dense forest.

"Uh, Sirius?" Harry asked, "Are you sure we're in the right location? Maybe the Portkey is faulty?"

"We're here, Harry," Sirius said. "Command your Signet Ring to lift any and all alien enchantments on the property."

Harry lifted his hand to his face and stared at the Potter Signet Ring, concentrating on it. In his mind, he could hear it whispering to him. He silently commanded it to remove any alien enchantments – those not set by members of the Potter House – from the property. Hermione and Tonks gasped a moment later, making Harry look up. The dense forest was no longer there. Instead there was an iron-wrought gate and, beyond it, a long dirt and gravel pathway with trees dotted along on either side. In the distance, Harry could just make out a building, though he could not see it clearly just yet.

"Like him or hate him," Remus said, "Albus Dumbledore is a very smart man. I don't think he could actually get inside the Manor, nor its surrounding Grounds at all. On top of the Secret Keeper Charm he set, he also placed other enchantments. That forest you saw was an illusion, meant to confuse you and anyone who didn't know there was a residence here."

"Why couldn't Dumbledore get in?" Harry asked.

"Permission Wards," Sirius said, "Like those set on the Granger house. Once we get inside, I'll show you how to modify that Ward, so you can allow anyone you want. Until then – well – let's hope that because we're with you, we have permission to enter the Grounds."

"If you don't?" Harry asked.

"We would suffer something similar to third degree sunburns, blisters and boils all over our body," Sirius said; he smiled wryly when Harry and Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about the two of you. As a Potter, you have lifetime access on your property, and it can't be taken away. And Hermione – both her and her parents are official members of the House of Potter. They can pass through any enchantments set by a Potter. The rest of us... well, we'll tell you if we feel anything."

"I'll – ah – take your word for it," Harry said, "I'm guessing that gate is locked?"

"Yep," Sirius said, "The fence surrounds the entire property. In order to open it, simply place your ring in the center of the letter 'P' in the crest."

"Like your Family Vault, Harry!" Hermione said.

Harry nodded. The door of the Potter Family Vault had a large version of the Potter Family Crest across it. It was easy to guess that the gate had a similar unlocking mechanism. Harry walked over to the iron-wrought gate, where the Potter Crest was etched directly in the center of it. He lifted his ring to the hole in the center of the letter 'P', and pressed into it. A mechanical sound was heard, and the gate split into two at the two swords in the crest and parted.

Harry stepped through the gateway, and turned as he watched Hermione, then Sirius, Tonks and Remus slowly make their way past the gate. Once past the gate, it closed behind them. The group stared at each other waiting for half-a-minute for anything to happen. When their skin didn't start blistering, they all chuckled nervously.

"Guess you're right, Sirius," Harry said. "Because you're with me, you have permission on the property."

"Actually I suspect it is because you trust us," Remus said. "For example, what if you were coerced onto the property, and someone had you at wand-point?"

"I like that theory better," Tonks said.

"Let's just get to the Manor," Sirius said, "Once you reset the Permission Ward, we won't have to worry about it."

Harry and the rest of the group started their way down the dirt and gravel driveway. As he walked down the path, Harry took in the scenery. The trees that dotted the path - each separated about ten feet from each other on either side of the pathway – made a sort of ceiling of leaves above them, allowing a mix of shade and sunlight coming through the leaves. Behind the trees on either side stood a large hedge-like wall that raised about ten feet, blocking the view of whatever was behind them.

"What is beyond those hedge walls?" Harry asked, curiously.

"The front of the Grounds," Sirius said, "Flower gardens. Decorative stone pathways. If I remember correctly, there is a hedge maze just to get lost in when you're bored. And that is just the front yard. There's more on either side of the Manor, and behind it as well. James and I ran around these Grounds as Padfoot and Prongs for hours at a time without getting bored."

"How many acres are there?" Harry asked, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that he owned a large Manor and Grounds.

"Roughly the size of Hogwarts Grounds, minus the Forbidden Forest," Sirius said.

"And we're in Northampton?" Hermione asked, "Is this hidden from Muggles?"

"The citizens of Northampton have stories about Potter Manor," Remus said, "Most believe it doesn't exist; I'm sure the dense forest enchantment helped that rumor out over the past decade. Some know it exists but that it is haunted. Several believe a scary old witch lives here."

Harry, Hermione and Tonks laughed.

"In truth, there are Muggle-Repelling Wards set all over the property," Remus said. "A common Muggle can't get near it, which is why most believe it doesn't exist."

"Wait," Hermione said, "Are there house-elves in Potter Manor? Is that how the wards have remained for so long?"

"There were," Sirius said, nodding, "Several of them. All owned by the House of Potter. All treated very well by the Potters. All of whom loved the Potters. I'm not sure if they're still here. I'm actually working on a theory. But I can't explain it until I know whether or not there are house-elves waiting for us."

"Nothing looks overgrown or damaged by time," Tonks said, "Maybe they're still around."

"That might just be the enchantments," Sirius said, "I thought about that too."

Soon the path spilled out into a large circular driveway, and everything became bright again. In the center of the circular driveway stood a large decorative stone fountain that was empty of water at the moment. Beyond the fountain, Harry got his first good look at his new home.

Potter Manor was a two-story, white-washed, wood-and-stone manor-house; width-wise is appeared to be the size of three houses on Privet Drive put together.

"It is beautiful," Hermione gushed.

Harry smiled, agreeing with his girlfriend. It truly was a beautiful house.

"What you can't see is a large attic above the second floor, for storage," Sirius said, "as well as a basement underground that takes up the entire width of the manor, though a quarter of that is home to the house-elves. You'll have to open the front door, Harry. It is similar to the gate."

Harry nodded and led the group to the front door. On the doorknob, he found the Potter crest where a locking mechanism would usually be. He pressed his ring to the crest and they heard a short mechanical sound. Harry opened the door and they made their way inside. The first room they came into was a large entrance hall. Two staircases stood on either side of the room leading to the second floor. The walls were wood-paneled in white mahogany, and the floor was a fine brownish-red carpet.

Hermione set down Crookshanks' carrier and opened it up.

"This house is pretty big, Crookshanks," Hermione said, "Try not to get lost."

Crookshanks meowed, stepped out of his carrier, then raced up the stairs toward the second level.

"'Pretty big' might be an understatement, Hermione," Sirius said, "The first floor consists of a large sitting room, kitchen, bathroom, study and very large room known as the event room, which is basically a dining room and party room. It would fit all the guests for the planned social dinner. Near the kitchen there is a door that leads down to the basement. The second floor has eight bedrooms, two of which are Master bedrooms with en-suite full bathrooms – one for your grandparents, Harry, the other for James, then both him and Lily after they married. There are also two more bathrooms, another study which your father and grandfather both used, and – I think you'll like this, Hermione – a nice-sized library."

Hermione squeaked lightly in excitement.

"I'm going to assume none of the furniture has been moved at all," Sirius said, "It just merely needs some good Transfiguration spells and charms to update with the times."

"Ragnok mentioned a family tree tapestry and a safe," Harry said, "Do you know where they would be?"

"Your father's study," Sirius said, "If I remember correctly, it is directly across one of the Master bedrooms, where your parents slept. I think that bedroom would be perfect for you, Harry. But before you do anything, we need to go into the study."

Harry nodded and followed Sirius across the room through a hallway. Harry looked through doorways as he walked, and found the sitting room which looked very cozy. He could just make out a welcoming hearth before he passed by the room. The next room they passed was a bathroom, then Sirius turned into another room. The study resembled a small sitting room with two desks, a sofa, and two bookshelves. Sirius led Harry over to one of the bookshelves on the far side of the room.

"Pay close attention, Harry," Sirius said, "You'll be doing this in the future."

Harry watched as Sirius placed hand on an ornate book-end that seemed to be built into the top shelf of the bookshelf. He then pulled on it, and it leaned toward him. Sirius then backed away, pushing Harry back slightly, as the bookshelf slid forward then to the left along the wall, revealing a large steel door. The door had another Potter Crest on it.

"I believe you know what to do, Harry," Sirius said.

Harry walked over to the door and pressed his ring into the center of the letter 'P' on the crest. He expected to hear a mechanical sound, and so he was quite surprised when the stone door vanished in front of him.

"Go on in, Harry," Sirius said.

Harry stepped into the room, and turned around immediately when he heard Hermione squeak in fright behind him.

"Where did he go, Sirius?" Hermione asked.

"You can't see me?" Harry replied, rather confused.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, "I can hear you, I just can't see you! You walked through a wall!"

"It's alright, Hermione," Sirius said, "Harry, the room you are standing in is what is known as the Wardstone Room. Only Potters are welcome in this room. Hermione, you might on his family tree, but you are not technically a Potter. When you are Lady Potter, you'll be able to enter the room."

"What's with all the security?" Harry asked.

"It is here for a reason, Harry," Sirius said, "The Wardstone Room stands directly in the center of not only Potter Manor, but the entire Grounds on the property. The Wardstone – which is the large stone column in front of you – powers all of the Wards on the property. If the Wardstone is destroyed, if this room is destroyed, it would destroy the Wards, and maybe even bring the Manor down on top of it."

Harry grimaced at that thought. He studied the stone formation in front of him. It seemed to be sparkling and pulsing magic.

"If this controls the Wards," Harry said, "then how the bloody hell was Dumbledore able to place enchantments on the property?"

"That is what I'm trying to figure out, Harry," Sirius said, "I'll explain my theory very soon. Right now, you need to take control of the Permission Ward and modify it. Unlike the Wards on the Granger house, you can place anyone's name without using their wand. It is absolutely fool-proof. Your Signet Ring will guide you on the exact instructions."

Harry nodded and looked at his ring. He then heard the familiar whispers in his mind and the instructions became clear. He pressed the Signet Ring against the stone and inhaled and exhaled.

"I, Harry James Potter," Harry said, "Lord Potter, of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter recognize myself as the Master of this House. I invoke the Permission Ward allowing these people into this Manor and these Grounds until I say otherwise: Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Hermione Granger, Daniel Granger, Emma Granger, Nymphadora Tonks, Ted Tonks, Andromeda Tonks, Amelia Bones, Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, Astoria Greengrass, Castor Greengrass, Illiana Greengrass, Luna Lovegood and Xenophilius Lovegood. May these guests be struck down and expelled from these premises if they knowingly wish to do harm to the Master or other guests. The guest list is complete until the next time I say these words. So mote it be."

"Excellent, Harry," Sirius said, "You can always add more to the list when it comes time to prepare for your social party."

Harry turned around and stepped out of the Wardstone Room. Hermione gasped lightly when she saw him; to her it appeared that he had stepped through the wall. Harry looked over his shoulder and saw that the wall had returned.

"In order to return the bookshelf to its normal position, simply replace the book-end to its rightful position," Sirius said, as he demonstrated just that very thing.

The bookshelf slid right and back against the wall. Harry could not see any of the steel door behind it.

"Really, the only time you have go in there is to set the Permission Ward," Sirius said, "Every other ward can be commanded by your ring."

"Okay," Harry said, "Please explain this theory you're talking about."

"Well, if there were any house-elves here at this moment," Sirius said, "I think we would have met at least one already. They likely would have greeted us back in the entrance hall. My theory is that Dumbledore somehow convinced your parents to move the house-elves to Hogwarts until they returned to Potter Manor."

"So you're saying that some of the house-elves working at Hogwarts," Hermione said, "may belong to the House of Potter?"

"Exactly," Sirius said, "It would have worked right into Dumbledore's plan. With a lack of house-elves here, the Wards would have weakened measurably, allowing Dumbledore the ability to place enchantments including the Fidelius Charm. I imagine there were some enchantments that survived over the years, running at low power. For example, Stasis Charms. That is why we didn't walk into a house full of dust, mildew, et cetera. What say we return the Potter house-elves to their rightful home?"

"How?" Harry asked.

"First off, we can't do it in this small room," Sirius said, "Depending on how many house-elves are still around, it might get crowded. Let's go to the Event Room. Believe me, its big enough."

Sirius turned and led the group out of the study, then lead them through the corridors. Soon, he led through an archway and into a room that nearly floored Harry when he looked at it. The room seemed to make up a third of main floor of the Manor. It was enormous. On the left side of the large room stood a very long dining table with several chairs around it. On the right, stood a circular dining table that seemed to be reserved for small family meals.

"It can fit at least one-hundred souls," Sirius said, "That was roughly the number of guests here when James and Lily married. They had their wedding reception in this very room, and their wedding out back on the Grounds. The dining table there sits between thirty and forty. Harry, please attempt to summon the house-elves and we'll see if any show up. Your ring should let you know the correct words."

"House-Elves of the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter," Harry said, "Your Lord summons you!"

Almost immediately, ten house-elves appeared in front of them. They looked around confused for a moment, before they saw Harry and cheered in unison.

"Uh, let's see," Harry said, "Who is the head elf of this little group?"

An elf that appeared to be a female walked a few paces forward.

"I am Melina," the elf said, "And you is surely young Master Potter."

"I am Harry," Harry said. "Please call me Harry."

"Melina speaks for every elf in this room when she says she is happy Harry is finally home!" Melina said.

"Thanks," Harry said.

"Melina," Sirius said, "You wouldn't happen to be Missy's daughter, would you?"

"Yes, sir," Melina said, then her ears drooped. "Missy is in the great meadow we all must go to in the end. Seven years now, sir."

"I am sorry," Sirius said, "I liked that elf."

"Did all of you work at Hogwarts, Melina?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry," Melina said. "These elves were born at Hogwarts. Their parents, like my own, were former elves who worked here."

"How did you come to work at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"When Master James and Lady Lily left Potter Manor," Melina said, "They asked us to work at Hogwarts until they or young Master called them home. Master James asked us to treat Headmaster Dumbledore as our temporary Master until then."

"Why did you never come see me?" Harry asked.

Melina's ears drooped again. "Headmaster forbid it until our Master summoned us."

"And if I never knew you existed?" Harry asked, "if I never summoned you?"

"I expect we would work at Hogwarts until the end of our days," Melina said.

Harry nodded. He was furious at Dumbledore, but he didn't want to show such emotions in front of the house-elves in case they reacted badly.

"Well," Harry said, "I have returned home to Potter Manor, and I will likely be living here on a permanent basis, except for when I go to Hogwarts, or on holiday. Hermione, here, is my Betrothed, and she'll be a long-term guest for now. Do you happen to know Sirius, Remus and Dora Tonks?"

"I believe so, though I was very young," Melina said. "We recognize Professor Lupin as one of the staff at Hogwarts."

"No longer, I'm afraid," Remus said, smiling.

"They'll be living here as temporary guests as well," Harry said. "As the head elf of House Potter, I assume you were in charge of these other elves?"

"Yes, sir," Melina said.

"You may hold onto that position," Harry said, "I don't really know what it is like to be in charge of house elves. But I will get to know each and every one of you in the coming days, I expect. One last thing before I leave you to your duties of Potter Manor. Melina, do you by chance know a house-elf named Dobby?"

A hint of blush appeared on Melina's cheeks. Hermione giggled lightly; apparently she had noticed it too.

"Oh, yes ,sir!" Melina said, "Dobby works in the kitchens at Hogwarts. But he not a Hogwarts elf, merely a volunteer."

"Would you be okay if I hired him onto the staff of Potter Manor?" Harry asked.

Melina nodded rather energetically. "Oh, yes, sir. We'd be very happy!"

"Thank you, Melina, everyone," Harry said, "I'll let you begin your duties."

Melina turned to the house elves, spoke in what appeared to be an elfish language, and they all vanished at once.

"Well, I do believe Melina fancies Dobby," Hermione said, chuckling.

"Would it be okay with you if I hired him?" Harry asked. "I have a running theory, ever since we came back from Greengrass Manor. I think I know how to get past any protective enchantments we run into during our assassination missions. We simply overload them with house-elf magic."

"Harry!" Hermione scolded, "That would be very dangerous for the elves."

"Nah, it wouldn't," Sirius said, "True, it may make them a bit tired, but that is all. It is a really good plan, Hermione. A lot better and safer than I could come up with."

Remus and Tonks expressed their agreement as well.

Hermione sighed. "Okay, but I'm not entirely happy with you using the elves like that."

"You wouldn't be you if you were," Harry said, with a smile. "Dobby! Can you hear me?"

A moment later, Dobby appeared a few feet in front of him. Harry grinned, blinking back tears as he looked upon the elf. It seemed likely only recently the elf had saved him, Hermione and several others, and gave his life doing so.

"Harry Potter!" Dobby exclaimed, "An honor it is!"

"Hello, Dobby," Harry said, "Welcome to Potter Manor."

Dobby gasped, as he looked around. He seemed rather excited to be there.

"How would you like to become an official elf of House Potter?" Harry asked.

Large tears leaked from Dobby's bulbous eyes. "Harry Potter wants Dobby to work for him?"

"If that is what you want," Harry said. "I know you're working at Hogwarts."

"Dobby has been volunteering at Hogwarts, this is true," Dobby said, "But Dobby would be honored to be an elf of the great House of Potter!"

"You're hired," Harry said, "Do you require pay?"

"Oh, no, sir," Dobby said, "Dobby is just pleased to work for Harry Potter!"

"Go find Melina then," Harry said, "She is the Head of the Potter elves. She tells me you know her?"

Dobby nodded, his cheeks turning slightly red. "Oh, yes, Dobby knows Melina and the Potter elves. Dobby admits that he was quite confused because he didn't know Harry Potter owned elves."

"I didn't know that either until today," Harry said. "But they will be family. Just like you."

Dobby choked back tears. "Dobby would be happy to be Harry Potter's family. If Dobby is excused, Dobby will find Head-elf Melina."

"You're excused," Harry said.

Dobby vanished from sight. Harry turned to Hermione, who smiled with misty eyes.

"It would appear Dobby fancies Melina as well," she said.

"He seems to be a big fan of yours, Harry," Tonks said, "Who is he?"

"A friend," Harry said, smiling, "A very good friend. Gave his life to save mine and Hermione's in the other timeline."

"A good friend indeed," Sirius said, "Shall we go explore the rest of the house and find our bedrooms?"

It was mutually agreed, so Harry and the others made their way out of the Event Room and back toward the entrance hall, then up to the second floor. The first room they passed was the library – Hermione lingered at the door of the room for a few moments, before Harry pulled her along. Tonks found a bedroom first and excused herself as she walked in. As the others walked down the hall, they came across a large bedroom.

"This was your grandparents' bedroom," Sirius said, "The other Master Bedroom. Yours is at the far end of the hallway. Good view of the backyard. Your father's study is across the hall from it. To the left of the study is your old nursery, Harry, and across from that is a nice bedroom that Hermione might like. I think I'll take this bedroom."

"And I'll take this one," Remus said, motioning to the room across the hall from the Master Bedroom, before walking inside.

Sirius stepped into his choice of bedroom, and Harry and Hermione headed off down the hall. The first room they came upon was Harry's old nursery. The wallpaper resembled a giant animated Quidditch match. A baby crib and various other furniture was still there.

"Oh, this is just too cute," Hermione said, grinning. "I can just picture you as a baby laying in the crib and watching the wallpaper."

Harry smiled. "I think I'll leave this room as is. At least for now. Might change it if we need another bedroom."

"Good idea," Hermione said. "Lets go to the Master Bedroom."

"Both of us?" Harry asked grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes and playfully punched his arm. "Your bag has most of my belongings. I need to retrieve them before I take them to _my new bedroom. _But I do want to see yours. After all, I'm quite sure it will be my bedroom too in a few years."

Harry felt his cheeks grow warm. Hermione giggled and ducked out of the nursery. Harry sighed, realizing she was teasing him, and followed her. Soon they reached the end of the hallway. Harry looked to his left and found the office Sirius had mentioned. He decided to put off going in there for just a little while longer. Instead, he turned to his right and made his way into the bedroom. The Master Bedroom, which once belonged to his parents, was brilliant, in Harry's opinion. It was roomy, inviting and had a warm atmosphere to it. Three windows, two pointing to the north, and one pointing to the west, brought natural light in that made the room glow.

Against the western wall of the room stood an large and extremely comfortable looking brown-mahogany bed that, in Harry's opinion, could likely fit three or four people. His cheeks grew warm at the thought of how many of his Betrothed he could fit on the bed with him. On the left side of the room, there was another door. Harry and Hermione both walked over to it and found the Master bath. Along with the expected sink and toilet, was a large bathtub that resembled a hot-tub with added shower. It looked extremely inviting.

"That tub looks large enough to fit four... at least," Hermione said, grinning. "I might have to borrow it a few times."

"Or you could join me?" Harry said, in an obviously joking manner.

"Perhaps," Hermione replied.

Harry choked. Hermione giggled and snatched the Undetectable Extension bag from his belt loop, then walked back into the bedroom. As she began taking her things out of the bag, Harry walked over to the window and looked out it. What he saw made him exclaim "Holy Merlin!"

"What?" Hermione asked; then hurried over to the window, "Well that's – wow."

On the back end of the grounds behind the Manor, surrounded on three sides by a dense forest stood a half-court Quidditch Pitch complete with six rings and stadium seats on two sides. The rings went about thirty meters into the sky instead of the usual fifty in professional stadiums. Closer to the house, Harry saw a large Greenhouse that sparkled in the sunlight, as well as a couple gardens on either side of it.

Harry sighed and turned his back to it. He may have been looking around his bedroom, but in reality, he was staring off into space.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked, as she resumed removing her belongings from the bag.

"How could my parents leave Potter Manor for a small cottage in Godric's Hollow?" Harry asked. "This place is amazing. And the Wards protecting the Manor and Grounds? It would take at least an hour or two, if not more, for Voldemort and a crew of Death Eaters to get around them. By then, Mum and Dad could have been long gone. How the bloody hell did Dumbledore convince them to leave?"

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said, "But it will be something he will answer to. I promise you."

"He coerced them somehow," Harry said, "He must have."

"Very likely," Hermione said, "Whatever it is, we'll discover it."

Harry nodded. Hermione smiled, collected her belongings and left the room, leaving Harry to his thoughts. He stood and began pulling his belongings out of his bag. He placed Hedwig's cage on top of a dresser near one of the windows, then opened the window. Almost immediately, he heard a noise nearby. He turned and smiled when he found Hedwig perched on the windowsill. He smiled as he watched her fly over to her cage and perch herself on top of it.

"Hello, girl," he said, as he walked over to her, "Safe flight?"

Hedwig hooted and nodded, then nuzzled into his hand. Harry placed food and water in her bowls in the cage, and Hedwig flew inside and started her feast.

He then started unpacking clothes from the bag and placing them in the dresser and walk-in closet. When he got to the bottom of his bag, he pulled out his school trunk and set it at the end of his bed.

Then he pulled out another chest, and was rather surprised as he looked at it. He had forgotten about finding the chest in Slytherin's office in the Chamber of Secrets. It seemed like years since he had found it. So much had happened since then. He pushed it under his bed for safe keeping. He recalled Ginny mentioning her brother Bill could likely open it safely without setting off any enchantments. Harry wondered if he would ever find a proper time to ask Bill about it.

By the time he finished unpacking, Harry found that Hedwig was asleep, resting from a long mid-morning flight.

"Sweet dreams, girl," Harry said.

Then he set off out of his bedroom, eager to explore his father's old office and the rest of Potter Manor.

* * *

**Decided to end the chapter there. Odd ending, I know. But it seemed like a good place to end it.**

**The main problem with the Potter family having an elaborate Manor with excellent protective enchantments is there is no really good reason why James and Lily would leave and go to Godric's Hollow. Hopefully I can come up with a good reason.**

**So Dobby has finally come into the story, along with a few other elves. Ten elves, plus Dobby, seemed like a nice number. They'll be useful when bringing down wards on the houses of baddies.**

**I seriously debated whether or not to have some of the Potter family portraits in the Manor. But I just don't think I will. If I did, I'd have them in one or two scenes and forget about them or never have them in the story again. No real point to that.**

**Next chapter: Harry explores the rest of Potter Manor, finds his family tree and family Grimoire. Then Harry and Co. talk about their upcoming missions.**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Additional Note: There is a new poll on my profile! Which Death Eaters should be focused on in story during the Assassination missions? You can vote for two of seven listed. Lucius Malfoy, Amycus and Alecto Carrow are not listed, because they (and Umbridge) will be in the story. Fenrir Greyback and Barty Crouch, Jr. will not be on the assassination list. Any Death Eater which doesn't win, or not listed (there are several not on the poll), will likely get summary assassinations instead of full scenes. **


	34. The Butterfly Effect

**Chapter 34  
The Butterfly Effect**

**Author's Note: So this chapter went a complete one-eighty from my initial plans, but I love the plans I had for this chapter. The events in this chapter needed to happen in order for things to work out how I need them to. A lot of shady things happen in this chapter, some which may be a tad unbelievable, but it all will work out for the best. If you're confused with any of it, read the Author's Note at the end. It will explain it better.  
**

**The first scene of this chapter has a religious connection to it. I'm sorry if I've offended anybody with it.**

* * *

**Saturday, June 29****th****, 1994**

Harry stepped out of his new bedroom and crossed the hallway, then entered his father's old study. His eyes widened as he looked around the room. It didn't take long at all to find the House Potter Family Tree. The wallpaper around the room _was the Family Tree. _It reminded him the the Black Family Tapestry at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, and he wondered if this was the norm in the wizarding world.

Like the tapestry at Grimmauld Place, the facial caricatures of his ancestors were imprinted into the fabric of the wallpaper, and several of them were animated. To his left, the Tapestry started at the beginning of the Family Tree, with the Peverell family, then skipped three generations when the great-granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell – one of the legendary Three Brothers – married a Potter. The tapestry wrapped around the entire room, ending on the wall to Harry's right, leaving a big blank space for future family.

Harry walked over to the wall which highlighted the last of the Potters. He found a picture of his grandfather, Charlus Potter. Charlus was a handsome man, and Harry could see the resemblance between Charlus and himself. A line extended left to Dorea Potter ('nee Black) and branched downward to Harry's father James. Another line extended left showing a picture of his mother, Lily. Below his parents, Harry found a picture of himself, almost a mirror reflection staring back at him. And floating in her own little space nearby was a picture of Hermione, with her own parents, branched above her – honorary members of the House of Potter, at least until Harry married Hermione, then they would be officially family. The thought made Harry feel warm inside.

"The pictures are self-updating," Harry realized out loud.

"Harry?" Hermione's voice rang out, as she stepped into the room, "There you are. _Wow! _This is amazing!"

"Look at this, Hermione," Harry said; Hermione walked over to him and he pointed at their pictures. "The pictures update by themselves."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "I bet they update every birthday. It is a good thing there is all this space left. What with how many wives you'll be taking on."

"Yeah," Harry said; he turned and looked around the room. "Hmm... if I was a safe, where would I be?"

"Well," Hermione said, as she looked around, "There's no portraits for it to hide behind. How about the bookshelf?"

Harry nodded and walked over to the bookshelf behind a large mahogany desk, complete with a comfortable-looking black leather chair. He found a book-end, and tugged on it, but it refused to budge. He tried the three others on the shelf but nothing happened.

"Well, it isn't the same as the study on the first floor," Harry said.

Hermione walked over to the bookshelf, and ran a finger across the books, then stopped on a particular one: _The King James Bible._

"'King James'," she said, "I could imagine your father liking that. Strange, though. I never thought of wizards as very religious people. I wonder..."

She took the book from the shelf, but nothing happened. Hermione shrugged and opened it. Suddenly, Harry jumped back as, below him, a section of the floor moved, revealing a steel door of a safe, its face upwards. Harry bent down on his knees and studied it. He expected to find a lock that required his Signet Ring to open it, and was therefore surprised when he found a rolling lock with four digits, numbered one to ten.

"Four numbers," Harry said, "What do you think? My birthday? Dad's birthday?"

"Too obvious," Hermione said, "Hmm... I think it is in this book."

She proceeded to turn through pages for a full minute, before she stopped.

"I do believe I found it," Hermione said, "Book of Matthew, Chapter 27, verses 9 and 10. _Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, __saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me."_

"The Potter's Field," Harry echoed.

"Sounds like something your father might like," Hermione said, "Try 2-7-1-0."

Harry did as was instructed, and he grinned as he heard a mechanical sound and opened the safe's door.

"You are absolutely brilliant, Hermione," he said.

Hermione blushed and smiled. Harry looked down into the safe and reached into it. He pulled out a thick, hard-leather book and looked at it. He smiled when he saw the Potter crest etched into the leather on the front of the book.

"This is it, Hermione," Harry said, as he ran his fingers over the crest, "The Potter Family Grimoire."

"There must be hundreds of pages in there!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yes, I'll give you permission to look at it," Harry said.

"Oh, no, you shouldn't!" Hermione said, "That is for a Potter's eyes only."

"Really?" Harry asked, with a smirk, "You don't think my father ever let his friends look at it? Besides, in a few years, you will be a Potter. I'm sure my father and grandfather would not mind."

"Well, alright," Hermione said, "There must be a lot of good knowledge in there. Spells that your family created over the decades and centuries! Stories over the years, about your family."

"It will be a good read, that's for sure," Harry said.

He set the book aside and reached back into the safe. But he found nothing else inside.

"If there was anything else, Dad must have removed it," Harry said, "Decided to leave the Grimoire just to be safe. Hmm... once I sort through my trunk, I think I'll put the Elder Wand and Resurrection Stone in here."

"Won't you need the Wand in the graveyard?" Hermione asked. "Your own wand doesn't work against his."

"Yeah, but that isn't for another year," Harry said, "Just less than a year actually. I think it would be best to keep them in here, away from the Cloak. I'm not exactly sure what they'll do whilst in the vicinity of each other."

"I don't think I want to know," Hermione said.

Harry nodded in agreement, and closed the safe. Hermione returned the Bible to the bookshelf, and the floor returned to its normal position, hiding the safe from view.

"I'll read this later," Harry said, "How about we take a tour of the rest of the house and Grounds?"

Hermione agreed, and the young couple made their way out of the study and started off into the rest of the house.

* * *

Meanwhile at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore was relaxing in his comfortable chair at his desk. He was quite exhausted. It had been a long morning already. He had gone to the Ministry at about seven-o-clock that morning for an early meeting with the committee for the Triwizard Tournament.

Albus wanted to personally hex whoever had come up with the idea for an early meeting. Everyone in the meeting was too tired to get anything done for the first hour, and most of the early conversation was small talk. Then when the meeting finally moved forward, Ludo Bagman wanted to know who the Heads of the schools thought might be the popular choice for their champion. Olympe Maxime, the Beauxbatons Headmistress boasted on about five possible champions. When she mentioned the possibility of a Veela student becoming champion, Durmstrang Headmaster Igor Karkaroff couldn't help but sneer and turn up his nose at the thought. Maxime had noticed this, unfortunately, and had started a huge fuss that turned into an argument between the two Heads. That put off any possible chance of progress for another half-hour.

When progress finally continued, not much was done. There was talk of banning all ideas for a water-based task, because Veela had a weakness to water, but Ludo, Bartemius Crouch, and Karkaroff wouldn't have it. Albus agreed with the majority just to get a move on with the meeting.

Finally, when the meeting was over with, and Albus was making his way through the Atrium in order to use the Floo Network, he couldn't help but notice more people were glaring at him than usual. And he didn't know why.

Albus heaved a deep sigh and tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Blossom!" he called out.

A young female house-elf appeared in the center of his office.

"Yes, Master Head?" Blossom asked.

"Please bring me my morning post," Albus said.

"Would Master Head like Blossom to remove the Howlers?" Blossom asked.

"How many are there?" Albus replied.

"Fifteen, Master Head," Blossom said.

"Fifteen?!" Albus exclaimed; he usually only got five per day.

"And more coming in," Blossom said.

"My goodness," Albus said, "Destroy them. I have no time for them today. Bring me the rest of my post."

Blossom snapped her fingers and the new issue of the Daily Prophet appeared, followed by several pieces of post on top of it.

"Any urgent news I should know about regarding Hogwarts?" Albus asked.

"Yes, Master Head," Blossom said, "Eleven house-elves have disappeared from the premises."

Albus stared at the elf. "Eleven?! Did they have anything in common."

"Ten of the elves belong to the Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter," Blossom said.

Albus swore under his breath. He knew he should have seen this coming.

"And the other?" he asked, "What was their name?"

"Dobby, sir," Blossom said.

"Fine," Albus said, "If that is all, you may go."

Blossom snapped her fingers and vanished. Albus growled and cursed under his breath. If Harry Potter had reclaimed his family's elves, that meant there was a good chance he was back at his family Manor in Northampton. And if Sirius Black had accompanied him, it was quite likely the man had told Harry about the Wards, including how to disable the alien enchantments, which meant the Fidelius Charm and all other enchantments Albus had set long ago were gone!

It was also quite likely that Harry had taken control of the Permission Wards. It was plainly obvious that Harry didn't trust Albus, something that peeved him to no end. There was no possible chance that Harry would have placed him on the Permission Ward. Which meant there was no possible chance Albus could get into Potter Manor. Albus had tried several times to get into the Manor and had failed every single time. Even with the lack of house-elves at the Manor – thanks to Albus' own brilliant idea – the wards should have powered down to almost nothing. But the Manor was old, and the protective enchantments had been on the building and its surrounding grounds for a long time. They were still strong – strong enough to deter Albus. Even the attempt at overcharging the wards with house-elf magic had failed! This meant Albus could not take what he most wanted from Potter Manor: The Potter Family Grimoire.

If Harry hadn't found the Grimoire yet, it wouldn't be very long before he did find it. There was magic in that book that even Albus Dumbledore envied. The Potter Family magic was very strong, dating back to the teachings of Isabelle Peverell, the great-granddaughter of Ignotus Peverell. Isabelle had probably learned much from her great-grandfather through her father's and grandfather's teachings. And that was only the tip of the beanpole. There was a lot more in the Grimoire. If only Albus could get his hands on it!

But, alas, he knew it would likely not be. With eleven house-elves – because Albus was sure Harry had also hired Dobby, who he had freed from Lucius Malfoy's snare – the enchantments surrounding Potter Manor would strengthen once again.

Damn the Potter brat! Why could he not do what Albus wanted him to do? Why did the brat continuously choose to defy him? It wasn't long ago that the boy had looked up to him like a grandfatherly mentor – which was what Albus wanted, of course. How things had turned for the worst so quickly.

Albus shook these thoughts from his mind. He needed to focus. His plans to snare Potter could still work. Allowing the boy these small victories was okay. The Greater Good would win out in the end.

Albus picked up the Daily Prophet, spilling the post on top of it onto the desk, and looked at the front page. He nearly dropped the newspaper when he found a picture of himself staring back at him! The large bold letters above his picture read "**DUMBLEDORE: KIND HEADMASTER OR KIDNAPPER?**" Albus narrowed his eyes when he found the name of the article's author. Rita Skeeter. That woman was a thorn in his side since the day she took her job at the Daily Prophet. Knowing he would regret it, Albus began to read the article:

**Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of  
Witchcraft and Wizardry, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot,  
and member of the Order of Merlin, First Class, is often seen  
as a grandfatherly like mentor to the students in the legendary  
school he leads on a day-to-day basis. Often depicted as a kind  
old wizard who likes using odd phrases and whistling merry  
tunes while trotting along the corridors of Hogwarts.**

**Is he really a kind old man? Or is this just a mask, a hidden**  
**persona used to fool those who have coined him as "The Leader**  
**Of The Light"?**

**This reporter is sure her avid readers remember her article about**  
**Sirius Black's trial, and the exclusive one-on-one interview with**  
**the former prisoner of Azkaban. But this reporter may have also  
uncovered something bigger than an innocent man who spent over  
a decade in prison.**

**During his testimony, Sirius Black told a heartfelt story about the**  
**tragic night James and Lily Potter was murdered. Black also told**  
**of his encounter with a staff-member of Hogwarts – who shall remain**  
**anonymous – who was sent by Albus Dumbledore to the Potter**  
**cottage in Godric's Hollow to retrieve the young Harry Potter, who**  
**had barely survived the attack that left his parents dead. Sirius**  
**Black confronted the staff member, asking that the individual hand**  
**Harry Potter over to him, as Black was his godfather.**

**What did the staff-member do, you ask? I'll tell you, my dear readers.**  
**He refused. And refused again, even after Black asked him again, just**  
**as nicely. What did the staff-member do next? He told Black that Albus**  
**Dumbledore had given him orders to take young Harry Potter to Albus.**  
**Yes, away from his own godfather, whom should have had custody from**  
**that very night, as was his duty given by James and Lily Potter.**

**The staff-member took Harry Potter to the home of the boy's Muggle**  
**relatives, where Albus Dumbledore was waiting. When all was said and**  
**done, Albus had placed the boy on the doorstep of the Muggles' house**  
**in the middle of a chilly, dreary, early November night! And even worse?**  
**This reporter learned recently that the Muggle relatives had been forbidden**  
**to raise Harry Potter, per his parents' Final Will and word!**

**You heard that right, readers! Albus Dumbledore kidnapped Harry Potter**  
**from his godfather – and rightful guardian – and placed him on the steps**  
**of Muggles who his parents did not approve as guardians. Harry remained**  
**there for over a decade! A decade without the Boy-Who-Lived in the wizarding**  
**world, all because of Albus Dumbledore.**

**This reporter was absolutely shocked when she heard of this, and wanted her**  
**readers to know that Albus Dumbledore is not the man everyone truly believes**  
**he really is!**

**This is not the last this reporter has on Albus Dumbledore. Oh, no, readers. This**  
**is but the first of a series of articles in which we will learn who Albus Dumbledore,**  
**the "Leader of the Light" truly is.**

Albus dropped the article, and stared forward into his office, his brow furrowed. How dare Rita Skeeter write this article about him? And worse, most of it had been the whole truth, even though she had added her own usual relish to it! Now Albus knew why so many people were glaring at him at the Ministry of Magic. They had obviously read Skeeter's article.

This was not good. Albus knew he needed to do something about this and immediately. Rita Skeeter was not the kind of reporter you could just demand a retraction from. And the editors of the Daily Prophet loved the response Skeeter's articles gave, especially if it promised more readers.

Albus then smiled widely, as a thought came to his mind. If he had read the tales by Dr. Seuss, he might have compared it to the Grinch's smile. He knew exactly how to even things up in the playing field and turn things his way.

He stood from his chair and faced his phoenix, Fawkes.

"Fawkes," he said, "Take me to Diagon Alley. Now!"

* * *

Half-an-hour later, Rita Skeeter was in her office at the Daily Prophet. She was sipping from a tumbler of Ogden's Old Firewhiskey, congratulating herself on a fine opening article in what promised to be an excellent series on Albus Dumbledore. That is, if Harry Potter came through with his promise. She was sure he would, especially since he didn't approve of the kind of bad publicity she could cause him and his friends and allies.

The bottle of Firewhiskey had come from Barnabus Cuffe, her boss and Editor-In-Chief at the Daily Prophet, as a reward for a fine article that guaranteed readers. Cuffe loved the article for the most part. Though he did have issues with the whole "anonymous Hogwarts staff member" portion of her article. Rita refused to name the staff-member, keeping her promise to Harry Potter. Telling Cuffe about it would only cause him to tell her to investigate the staff member, and this was not something Rita could afford right now.

Suddenly, Rita heard a loud commotion outside her office window. She walked over to the window and her eyes widened at the sight she found. A large crowd of witches and wizards were standing in front of the Daily Prophet.

"There she is!" a wizard roared, pointing at Rita.

Rita smiled. Adoring fans! How she loved them! She waved at the crowd. All of a sudden, a tomato hit her smack-dab in the forehead, sending her reeling and falling backward. She stood up and looked out the window again.

"Who did that?" Rita demanded, "I will find out!"

"And what?" a witch said, "Write about us too? Taint us with your poisonous quills? How _dare _you accuse Albus Dumbledore like that?!"

"Yeah!" a wizard said, "You're just jealous!"

The crowd turned raucous, and started to throw hexes toward her office window. Rita shrieked; it had turned into a full out riot! She ran away from the window just in time as a Bombardment Curse hit her window, causing a large hole in the wall. She immediately transformed into her beetle Animagus, and took flight, dodging curses and hexes as she escaped through the large hole in the wall and into the air.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore looked on, from a distance and Disillusioned as the riotous crowd continued their physical and verbal assault toward the Daily Prophet. Suddenly, Aurors and other Ministry officials began charging toward the crowd on three sides. Albus waved his wand toward the crowd, and they only became more raucous, this time turning their assault on the Ministry officials.

Chaos. Albus Dumbledore craved it. All one needed to cause a riot was a few simple area-wide Confundus enchantments. Soon, word would get out that the rioters had targeted Rita Skeeter, angry at her article about him, and the focus would turn on Rita instead of himself.

Albus mentally patted himself on the back as he watched the battle in the street. Soon enough, the Aurors and Ministry officials were victorious, and began to arrest every single rioter. Albus turned to his phoenix and nodded. Master and phoenix disappeared in a plume of phoenix fire, nobody any the wiser that the riot had begun because of one man's fancy spell-work.

* * *

An hour later, Lucius Malfoy was sitting in his favorite chair in the sitting room of his elaborate, beautiful and majestic family Manor. A tumbler of gin was in one hand, and a letter in the other. The letter was from a contact in the Ministry.

_L,_

_Earlier this afternoon, there was a large riot in Diagon Alley, in front of the Daily Prophet. Over one-hundred witches and wizards were a part of it. The riot turned heated and out of control. Aurors and Ministry officials attempted to calm the rioters down, but all it did was fuel their rage. They turned on the Aurors and Ministry officials and started attacking them. Shockingly there were no fatalities, just a few injuries on both sides. However, every single one of the rioters were arrested._

_Here's the rub. Minister Fudge wants to send a message because of this. He hopes to cease all riots. So he has sentenced every single rioter to six months in Azkaban. However, the idiot, Fudge, didn't take one thing into count. Overcrowding._

_This is why I am writing this. I suggest you meet with Fudge post-haste, and give him your advice. I am sure there are several friends in Azkaban whom you would like to see gain their freedom. I think you know what to do._

_Good luck._

There was no signature, as usual. But Lucius knew who it was. He sipped on his drink and smiled as he looked at the letter. His contact may be an imbecile, but he wasn't useless. He had a very good idea this time. Lucius would not waste this idea.

He gulped down the rest of the gin and set the glass down. He tapped the letter with his wand, obliterating it from existence, then stood up. He walked over to the Floo, and threw a handful of the green powder into the hearth, turning the fire green.

He was about to step into the Floo when he heard footsteps nearby. He turned his head, and found his son, Draco, standing there.

"Where are you going, Father?" Draco asked.

"The Ministry," Lucius said, "I must meet with Fudge."

He studied his son and found that the boy was dressed appropriately.

"Why don't you come with me, son?" he asked, "Learn exactly how to make the Minister of Magic do your bidding for you."

A smirk crossed Draco's lips. "I would be happy to join you, Father."

Lucius motioned to the Floo and watched as his son stepped into it. Draco vanished a moment later, and Lucius waited for a few moments before he stepped in as well.

"The Ministry of Magic," Lucius said, clearly.

It was time to bring his friends home.

* * *

An hour later, Harry, Hermione and Tonks stepped into the large Event Room, where they found Sirius and Remus sitting at the small circular dining table.

The trio had just finished a long self-guided tour of the Manor and surrounding grounds. Harry's face hurt from all the smiling and grinning he had done during the tour. He absolutely loved his family home. He could easily see spending his life here with his future wives and children. While exploring the Grounds, he had fantasized about having picnics amongst the flower gardens with his future wives, as well as playing Quidditch on the Pitch with his children when they were old enough.

While on the tour, Harry, Hermione and Tonks had stopped by the Greenhouse. Hermione had mentioned that she'd like to see the Greenhouse and gardens become lush with plants and crops. Harry had then summoned Melina and spoke to the head-elf about Hermione's idea. Melina happily said she could get a couple of her fellow elves to begin on that very soon. Melina also said that she and a couple of the kitchen elves would go to an elf-friendly wizarding marketplace and buy groceries; she would also by various seeds and plants for the greenhouse and gardens. Harry gave her permission to take the required funds from the Potter Family Vault.

Harry, Hermione and Tonks had also visited the basement on their tour. A portion of the basement reminded Harry of the basement in the Granger House, specifically the drink bar. Harry could just imagine his father and his friends enjoying drinks and company there. Hermione had obviously spotted the similarities to her father's basement, because she commented that she would like to get a dartboard for the bar room, as well as some hay-bales and mannequins to continue their knife-throwing training. Harry promised he would look into it soon.

Sirius and Remus greeted the trio as they made their way over to the table. Sirius was reading the newest issue of the Daily Prophet. His eyes brightened when he saw Harry place the Potter Family Grimoire on the table.

"Excellent!" he said, "You found it."

"Yeah," Harry said, "I was wondering if you had looked through it at all."

Sirius and Remus both smiled.

"Your father found that very book in your grandfather's office when he was thirteen years old," Remus said, "Your grandfather didn't want him to see the book for a couple more years – didn't consider him mature enough at the time."

"Charlus was quite right," Sirius said, chuckling.

Remus smiled wryly. "Your father copied down several spells during that summer, and when the following September came around, he spent the entire journey on the Hogwarts Express telling us about all the spells he had found. To us Marauders, it was like a goldmine, a real treasure. You see... there are a number of spells and charms and enchantments in there that are used for – well -"

"The word is 'pranks'!" Sirius said, grinning.

"While they're not _meant _to be pranks," Remus said, "James, Sirius and I – with a minimal amount of help from Wormtail, who simply just listened and usually went along with all the plans – we were able to mold our various discoveries in different ways so they could be used as pranks. Now, I say that, but I must give you a warning about that book. Not every spell, enchantment, et cetera, in that book is fun and games. A lot of it is serious business – _no, Sirius!"_

Sirius pouted. "You gave me the perfect opening, Moony!"

Remus rolled his eyes as Harry, Hermione and Tonks snickered.

"A good percentage of what you will find in that book," Remus continued, "could be dangerous. High-risk enchantment, rituals, spells, curses. Many dating back centuries, including back to Isabelle Peverell."

"Ignotus Peverell's great-granddaughter," Harry said, remembering seeing her name on the Tapestry.

"I see you found your family tree," Remus said, smiling.

Harry snorted. "Hard to miss it."

"Indeed," Remus said, "Yes, Isabelle Peverell learned a lot of things from her great-grandfather through her father and grandfather. Her husband, a Potter, allowed her to put the knowledge in the book because it was so incredible. Promise me you'll be careful with that book. Promise me and Sirius that you'll talk to us about anything you might want to use."

"I promise," Harry said.

"One more thing about that book," Remus said, "Albus Dumbledore would do _anything _to get his hands on it."

Hermione huffed. "Even convince Harry's parents to move out of the highly protective Manor and turn over temporary guardianship of the Potter elves to him?"

"Indeed," Remus said, smiling grimly, "Luckily for us, this Manor is very old, and the enchantments have had a long time to cook and soak into the Grounds and air, making it very difficult to break through them."

"Then how on earth did Dumbledore convince my parents to move out of here?" Harry asked.

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other.

"Well, looking back, I could easily think of a couple of reasons," Sirius said. "A few days ago, we told you how the deaths of your grandparents affected your father. He was trying to keep brave for Lily and you, but I think it all began to boil over. Maybe there were just too many difficult memories of his parents in this place. Maybe the place became entirely too large and overwhelming for him all of a sudden. You and your parents – you were a small family. Nothing compared to what you will have in your future with your Betrothed and any children that come from your marriage. Back then, it was merely a small family of three people and a number of elves. I think it all became too much. So perhaps James and Lily decided they wanted to change residences and move to a house that didn't seem so overwhelming."

"Godric's Hollow," Harry said, nodding.

"The cottage in Godric's Hollow was a new property of the House of Potter," Sirius said, "Your father bought it. He didn't inherit it, it wasn't a long-time family residence like Potter Manor. Your father purchased it for himself, his wife and you, a small family. Only his best friends, and Albus Dumbledore, knew about it. When James and Lily and I met your parents, Hermione, and Lily and Emma started planning little play-dates for the two of you, it was always at the Granger house, or out on the town, never in Godric's Hollow."

"They were trying to keep it secret," Harry said, nodding.

"James already knew that he and his family would likely have a need for a safe-house," Sirius said, "So when he bought the place, he made sure it was a secret that few knew about."

"Of all the townspeople in Godric's Hollow," Remus said, "only one citizen knew the Potters lived there: Bathilda Bagshot, the historian. Lily had become quick friends with her, and I believe Bathilda babysat you once or twice. No one else in the town knew the Potters lived there until after that fateful Halloween."

"So it is entirely possible my parents moved out of this house on their own accord," Harry said, "They weren't coerced."

"Oh. Dumbledore might have stirred the pot a little," Sirius said, "But I don't think he was entirely to blame."

Harry nodded. "That makes me feel a bit better."

"Speaking of Dumbledore," Sirius said, "Look at this. Rita Skeeter published the first of her promised series on Albus Dumbledore today."

He shoved the newspaper across the table, and Harry spread the front page out so that he, Hermione and Tonks could read it. Harry was grinning again by the time he finished it.

"Well, at least threatening Rita didn't throw her off her game," he said.

"She labeled Hagrid as 'an anonymous staff member of Hogwarts'," Hermione said, "That was awfully nice of her. Never expected that out of her."

"Seems she is doing her best to keep her promise to you," Tonks said.

Suddenly, Dobby appeared near the table, and walked over to Sirius.

"Post for Harry Potter's Godfather," Dobby said, handing the letter to Sirius.

"Thank you, Dobby," Sirius said.

"Dobby and his fellow kitchen elves are beginning preparations for dinner," Dobby said, "It will be done in one hour."

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said, "I'm sure it will be delicious. You may be excused."

Dobby nodded once and vanished. Meanwhile, Sirius was reading through his letter. His expression grew grimmer as he continued.

"Well... shit," Sirius muttered.

"Language, Sirius!" Remus and Hermione both scolded in unison.

Harry and Tonks snickered.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?" Remus asked, "Amelia break up with you before the first date?"

"Worse," Sirius said, "Much, much worse. There was a large and raucous riot in front of the Daily Prophet just a couple hours ago. A hundred large. They were angry with Rita for the article about Dumbledore. Rita's office has a very large hole in the outer wall. Rita's fine though. Aurors and Ministry officials swarmed in to stop the riot, and the rioters turned on them."

"Oh, no!" Hermione gasped.

"There was a battle, which injured several," Sirius said, "And resulted in every single rioter getting arrested. Amelia says Fudge wants to send a message, warning the public about what will happen if there are future outbreaks of riots. He sentenced all rioters to six months in Azkaban."

"That is cruel and unusual!" Hermione exclaimed. "And yet I am not surprised."

"It gets even worse," Sirius said, "Because of the new prisoners, there will be overcrowding in Azkaban. Several prisoners will be set free on so-called 'good behavior.'"

"Like who?" Harry asked, "Molly Weasley and those in Cell Block A?"

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Sirius said, "Because that would be the right thing to do. Nope. You see, it all boils down to whom advised Fudge on who to set free for 'good behavior'. Amelia says it was none other than Lucius Malfoy."

"No effing way!" Harry growled, "I'll give you three guesses who he suggested be free."

"Death Eaters," Tonks said.

"Surely Fudge didn't allow it?" Hermione asked.

"Amelia reckons Lucius paid a hearty donation to Fudge," Sirius said, "Because Fudge did allow it. He put his foot down. Cousin Bellatrix, her husband and his brother aren't being set free. Apparently Augusta Longbottom got to Fudge as well and made sure they wouldn't be set free."

"Formidable woman like her," Tonks said, "She could scare the crap out of anyone, including Fudge."

"Yep," Sirius said, "However, several other Death Eaters are being set free."

"Give me that," Harry said, "Please."

Sirius handed the letter to Harry. He read through it and looked at the various names. One stuck out like a sore thumb. Harry showed the letter to Hermione, and pointed at the name. She whimpered and covered her mouth.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked.

"Antonin Dolohov," Harry said, "He came very, very close to killing Hermione in the last timeline. Don't worry, Hermione. He won't harm you ever again. I'll make sure of it."

Hermione nodded, as tears pooled in her eyes. Seeing her reaction heightened Harry's resolve.

"It appears our assassination list has just grown quite a bit," Harry said, "We're not wasting another moment. It is time to begin making plans. We have a long road ahead of us."

* * *

**Yep. Decided to end it there! A reviewer reminded me that Antonin Dolohov was in Azkaban as of the current time in this story. Then I realized several I had written down as targets – most will just be summarized and not full scenes – were also in Azkaban.**

**So I needed to do something about this. I didn't want to free Bellatrix or the Lestranges, nor did I want to kill them just yet. I'll probably use them somehow later on in the future of the story. So, I couldn't just have the good guys plan an Azkaban break-in where they could slaughter various Death Eaters. Nor could I plan a staged breakout because several would break-out that I didn't want to have happen.**

**So came the so-called Butterfly Effect. Rita's article about Dumbledore angered Dumbledore, which caused him to enchant a crowd to incite a riot. Which caused them to become imprisoned after a big riot. Lucius Malfoy gets word from a contact, and finds a solid opportunity. Dun-dun-dun... Death Eaters free on 'good behavior'! More Death Eaters for the assassination mission!**

**Next Chapter: Harry and Co. discuss their mission, and Harry explores the Grimoire a bit.**

**I am currently debating with myself about something. You see... my initial plans were for Tonks to infiltrate the Ministry to get the records of Death Eaters and their residences, and have it happen while Amelia and Susan visited Potter Manor. But that doesn't happen for another week, which would delay the Assassination mission for another week in-story. I think I will go through with that, and have a short one-week time-skip, in which I describe what happens during a week of preparing for the mission, so we can move on with the story. I just need to decide exactly how to do that.**

**I truly hope you liked this chapter. It was a fun one to write! There may be a short delay as I try to figure out exactly how to proceed into the next big storyline. The Assassination missions storyline was one of the reasons I wanted to write this story in the first place, so you can understand that it is a big thing for me. I need to do it right.**


	35. How To Get Away With Murder

**Chapter 35  
How To Get Away With Murder**

**Author's Note: I had a lot of mixed reviews last chapter. One review said I should probably just delete the chapter 34 entirely, all because I had Death Eaters freed on 'good behavior.' –snort- Lucius Malfoy did a lot bad stuff concerning him and Fudge, especially during Voldemort's first year back in power, when Fudge refused to see it. Malfoy knew exactly what to do, and how to do it. And Fudge has had a history of giving Malfoy what he wants in exchange for gold.**

**A few reviews said Fudge should resign or get sacked for his decision. Unfortunately, Fudge is a smart man. The first part of this chapter will explain just how smart.**

**Warning: Brief Sensuality and Partial Nudity at the end of the chapter.**

* * *

**Saturday, June 29****th****, 1994**

"It appears our assassination list has just grown quite a bit," Harry said, "We're not wasting another moment. It is time to begin making plans. We have a long road ahead of us."

"Well, I have nothing better to do," Sirius said, "This would be the perfect time to begin our initial plans while we wait for dinner."

"I'll be right back," Hermione said, "Going to get some supplies for note-taking."

She stood and hurried out of the room. Meanwhile, Harry was rereading through Amelia's letter.

"Minister Fudge has barred any and all Ministry officials," he said, "from telling the public and the media about his decision to release Death Eaters. Only higher-up Ministry officials know, such as Amelia and Rufus Scrimgeour."

"Limits the backlash," Sirius said, "Fudge isn't stupid. He knows what he just did. If word gets out about this, there will be Howlers from the public demanding his resignation. Amy took a big risk giving us that news."

"How long do you think the Ministry can keep it a secret?" Harry asked.

"Oh, probably a good long while, if they play their cards well," Sirius said, "First off, who would want to reveal to the public that the Death Eaters are free? There isn't going to be any whistle-blowers. Sure, they might get Fudge out of the office, but they would instantly be Death Eater bait, if word got out that they blew the whistle."

"Lucius Malfoy has many connections in the Ministry," Harry said, "He could easily find out who blew the whistle, and said person would be dead within a week or less."

"Indeed," Sirius said, "I'm sure everyone who knows this information is smart to keep it secret. Amy trusts us, so she knows she is completely fine. Rufus Scrimgeour, on the other hand, might want to use it to put himself in office. As you said, if he did, he'd be dead within a week if he tried. Second, the riot in front of the Daily Prophet will be the big news. It will be enough to distract the media. As long as the newly-released Death Eaters don't scream to the heavens that they've been released, that is."

"They wouldn't," Remus said. "Everyone remembers what several of those Death Eaters got up to during the Great War. There are families still around, still affected by the loved ones that got injured or killed by the Death Eaters. People who would want their revenge."

"Anyway, if our plans go well," Sirius said, "We won't have to worry about it. They won't have a chance to do anything. If you want my opinion, I think they're going to lay low for at least a couple weeks. They were just released from Azkaban, after a long stay. They need to recuperate."

Hermione returned at that moment with parchment, quills and ink.

"Well, then we shouldn't waste time, should we?" Harry asked, as he watched Hermione start jotting down a few notes, "We should go after them while they're weak."

"Harry," Remus said, frowning, "Do you remember what I said when I agreed to go through with this? If I don't believe you're ready, I have the right to stop everything. Yes, I understand what might happen if we don't go through with this mission of yours. But you can't go head first without preparing."

"For starters," Sirius said, "we don't know where everyone lives or what they live in – be it a Manor or a run-down shack. We don't know if they have a family – if they do, and we kill _only _the Death Eater in that house, their family will wake up to find the Death Eater dead. What happens then?"

"They might alert the other Death Eaters," Harry said.

"Exactly!" Sirius said, "And before we know it we're dealing with harsher defenses, targets who will stay up all night, or partner up in groups and shifts. They won't be asleep when we go in, they'll be awake and expecting us! Or worse, they'll flee the country, then come back with a vengeance we won't be prepared for."

"Or they'll come back when Voldemort summons them," Harry said.

"Which is what we're working on trying to stop," Sirius said, "We are not ready to start immediately. For starters, Tonks needs to go to the Ministry and retrieve the information – locations, family details, blueprints if possible. Some of it is public records. Some of it won't be. I've been thinking about this. Very few people in the Ministry know of your talents, Tonks. However, one in particular does."

"Madam Bones," Tonks said.

"Correct," Sirius said, "Now, Amy and Susan will both be here a week from today. You two - Harry, Hermione – will be having a little play-date with Susan. Meanwhile, Amy, Remus and I will be working on important investigation stuff against Dumbledore. I'll keep Amelia here for a few hours. That gives you, Tonks, enough time to go to the Ministry and snoop around."

"A week," Harry said, "We'll have to wait a week to begin?"

"Next Saturday night into Sunday early morning can be our first night," Remus said, "If you're prepared by then. We have a lot to do. Sirius and I will make sure the house-elves know how to overcharge wards to bring them down. Harry, Hermione, you'll want to continue practicing your knife-throwing, because I'm sure it will be helpful. Focus on mannequins."

"Speaking of mannequins," Sirius said, "We could have situation training. You'll practice sneaking around the corridors of Potter Manor and into bedrooms quietly. If you make a noise, small enough for a house-elf to hear you – because these places may have house-elves who will alert their Masters at the first sight or sound of any intruders – we could have house-elves appear to tell you that you've been caught. Also, we'll have mannequins laying in the bedrooms, posing as your targets. There will also be occasional mannequins that magically pop up around the corridors, to prepare for the random event that a Death Eater is awake for a bathroom run or something."

"Probably best we don't have the mannequins active when we have house-elves on alert," Tonks said, "Wouldn't want these two to throw a knife or a spell at a house-elf."

Harry grimaced. "Good idea. So basically, we just need to think of a few strategies that will be useful. If a strategy works, we use it."

"If it fails, try again and modify it a little," Remus said, "Don't automatically discard it."

Harry nodded and turned to Hermione. "Do you remember all the names of active Death Eaters, Hermione?"

"Yes, I am writing them down as we speak," Hermione said.

"We won't worry about Bellatrix, or her husband and his brother," Harry said, "Since we know they're in Azkaban. And keep Barty Crouch, Junior off the list."

"I was under the impression Barty, Junior is dead," Sirius said.

"Right," Harry said, "We haven't explained that, have we? Barty, Junior is not dead. Your other self, Sirius, told us a story once. Bartemius Crouch, Senior and his sickly wife visited Azkaban once."

"Correct," Sirius said, "They visited their son. And he died a few days later and was buried near Azkaban."

"Nope," Harry said, "That would have been Mrs. Crouch. She was ill, Bartemius knew this. Her dying wish was to protect their son, take him away from Azkaban. Crouch played a whole switching game with his wife and son. They used Polyjuice Potion. Crouch's wife took her son's place. Dementors didn't notice anything. One sickly, weak person came into Azkaban, one sickly, weak person left – Barty, Junior, under the guise that he was his mother."

"Damn," Sirius said, looking rather impressed. "That's almost as impressive as my escape. You know what this means! I'm not the first prisoner to escape Azkaban! That kicks my reputation in the backside a little."

Harry chuckled. "Anyway, Crouch, Senior has kept his son under his control via the Imperius Curse, hidden in his own house for all this time. Soon enough, Wormtail – on Voldemort's orders – will confront Crouch, Senior, attack him, and do another switch. This time, Crouch, Senior will be under the Imperius Curse. Junior would take his place... and then he will do a few other things in the near future, all leading up to me being in the graveyard on the night Voldemort returns. He had a big hand in it. And getting swept the graveyard the same exact way, whilst Crouch, Junior and Voldemort are oblivious to the fact that I'm prepared for it is part of my plan."

"Right," Sirius said, "So it is just best we leave him alone for now."

"Correct," Harry said.

"Remus?" Hermione said, "What about Fenrir Greyback? He joined the ranks of Death Eaters in the last timeline during the Second War."

Remus grimaced. "Greyback, at the moment, is not in Great Britain. Last I heard he was several hundreds of miles away. He and his so-called 'family' – a pack of werewolves, of which he is the leader – travel all across Europe looking for other werewolves, looking to take control of territories. They usually set camp down for several months, then move on. We won't worry about him for now until he decides to show up in Great Britain again."

"Alright," Hermione said. "Well, I count about seventeen Death Eaters on this list, plus Umbridge, so a total of eighteen targets. I can tell you right now that at least five or six have children that will be in their houses. If we kill only the Death Eater, and not their families, I count four who would wake up to find the Death Eater dead or missing, depending on if we choose to make them 'disappear', as usually goes the term. Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle. I know Carrow has a couple of twin daughters, I think they might be Astoria Greengrass' age."

"Amycus and Alecto Carrow," Remus said, looking thoughtful, "Brother and sister Death Eaters. Word is they're a very close-knit family if you know what I mean. There's a rumor that the twin daughters you speak of were fathered by Amycus and their mother is Alecto. Though the common belief is that their mother died in childbirth. That's the story at least."

"So both siblings are likely the parents," Harry said, "Which means the daughters will be with their parents. Which means... we kill the Carrows, and the daughters will be orphans."

"We might be able to find some stuff about them in the information I take from the Ministry," Tonks said, "Perhaps they have godparents who _aren't _Death Eaters."

"Well, whatever happens," Sirius said, "We need to put those Death Eaters with families and spouses last on the schedule. Those who will be alone, we can make them disappear, as you say, Hermione. If we're lucky, the Death Eaters will be none the wiser before we take them out."

"The best scenario for our end-game is this," Remus said, "Death Eaters and Dolores Umbridge all 'disappear' by the time word gets out that it happened. We want it done before the Ministry and media gets word of it. That, in my opinion, would be a success."

"We could hit multiple houses each night," Sirius said, "If we split up into two teams – Remus and Tonks, and myself with the young ones, we could attack two houses at once. If it turns out the house-elves work better as a whole, then they'll destroy the first house's wards, then move to the other. It would be better if they can work in two teams as well, though."

"If we work all night," Remus said, "Then we can get some rest during the day."

"Actually, Remus, we can sleep during the night as well," Hermione said, grinning.

She reached into her robes and placed an object in front of her on the table.

"Is that... a Time-Turner?" Tonks asked, as she looked on with amazement at the artifact..

"Young lady," Remus said, "You were supposed to hand that in at the end of term."

"I did," Hermione said, grinning, "As far as Professor McGonagall knows at least. I made a fake, and on my way to give it to her, tripped and broke the fake right in front of her. She was too worried about the fact that we were covered in volatile sand – which wasn't volatile at all – to realize it was a fake."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "You pulled a fantastic prank on Minnie of all people? You, young lady, are definitely an honorary Marauder!"

Hermione blushed and smiled. "This Time-Turner is our perfect alibi. We sleep each night, wake up at – say – five or six-o-clock in the morning, then go back in time to the previous evening and leave at our scheduled bedtime. So... while we're breaking into Death Eater homes and making them disappear..."

"We'll also be asleep in our beds," Remus said, nodding. "Perfect alibi. Good plan."

"As long as we have disguises," Tonks said, "Obviously I have the ability to use a perfect disguise."

"Oh, I think we will have a good option as well," Remus said; he pointed at the Potter Family Grimoire, "There is something very useful in there, Harry, that we can use for disguises. But – and this is me going back into Professor-mode for a moment - that is your homework. You have to find it. We'll help you complete the steps, but you have to find out what it is."

"I can do that," Harry said, nodding.

"If our first night of attacks is next Saturday, you have until Friday," Remus said. "The tool you're looking for requires a step that will take a few hours to prepare."

"So... a Potion!" Hermione said.

"Part of it is a Potion, yes," Remus said. "The sooner you find it, the sooner we can go to Diagon Alley and shop for the required materials. If you don't find it until it is too late, we won't have time to make it for the first attack. Then we'll have to use another idea."

"This is part of our training, isn't it?" Harry asked.

"Indeed," Remus said, "All of it will help you get into the correct mind-set. This is going to be very dangerous. We haven't even discussed the worst portion of it all yet."

"Which is?" Harry asked.

"Taking a life," Remus said, looking very serious.

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, and each had mirrored grim expressions. They both knew they would have to take lives, kill in cold blood. Both knew it was necessary. But they didn't enjoy it. Harry knew it was this that set them apart from Voldemort.

"Don't worry," Sirius said, "We'll train you. We know a few ways to do it without much of a mess, and without using the Unforgivable Curses. They were Tabooed during the Great War, you see. So, of course, we couldn't use them outside of Auror work. We had to come up with some creative ways to maim and kill when we were in battle, fighting with the Order."

"For example," Remus said, "Most of our targets will be asleep. Simply stun them so they don't make a sound, then use a Diffindo Curse on their throat. It would be the same as slicing their throat with your pocket-knife."

"Or use a modified Bubble Head Charm," Tonks said, "What are Bubble-Head Charms usually used for?"

"Breathing while underwater, or surrounded by toxic fumes," Hermione said.

"Precisely," Tonks said, "Stun the victim, like Remus said, then place a Bubble-Head Charm on them. Then use a minor Aguamenti Charm and fill the bubble with water. The Bubble-Head Charm is strong enough to hold the water."

"Death by drowning!" Hermione said.

"Nowhere near a body of water or bathtub," Tonks said, "Of course, you could always put those victims in their bathtub and fill it with water. Make it look like accidental drowning."

"You're scary sometimes, Tonks," Harry said.

Tonks smiled and shrugged. "One of the Auror Corps classes is nicknamed 'How To Get Away With Murder'. They train you to know what to look for when investigating murders. You want to learn creative ways of killing, that class is all you need."

"Basically what we're trying to say is this," Sirius said, "There are a lot better ways to kill someone than with a Killing Curse. Voldemort was actually humane when he killed people with that Curse. It simply snuffed out their life. No pain, no broken bones. Alive one moment, dead the next."

"Yes, well, if we could move past this subject until sometime after we eat," Hermione said, "I'm too hungry to lose my appetite."

It was mutually agreed so the conversation moved on. Harry and Hermione started talking strategies for their training. Sirius, Remus and Tonks simply sat back and listened to them, while they came up with strategies. They never once showing their approval or disapproval. Harry and Hermione both realized if one of their strategies was a failure already, Sirius, Remus and Tonks wanted them to use it first and learn from the experience when they failed. After twenty minutes of creating strategies, they finished, deciding they had enough for the first few days. If any failed, they could modify them and try again.

"Well," Sirius said, "It sounds like we have a long, busy week ahead of us."

"On top of all of this," Remus said, "You need to keep an eye on the apothecaries to see if Dumbledore or anyone he might be allied with visits."

"Bollocks," Sirius groaned. "Hmm, I think – if you approve, Hermione – I'll request that a couple of the house-elves do that."

Harry glanced at Hermione, who was biting her lip, and looking thoughtful.

"Normally, I would disapprove of using them like that," Hermione said, after half-a-minute, "But we don't want to waste any time this next week or we risk failing our mission and much worse. So... talk to a couple of the elves, if you wish, and ask them. I'm sure they'll volunteer."

"Excellent," Sirius said, "I will speak to them about it when we talk to the elves about practicing destroying protective enchantments."

Dobby appeared a moment later near the table. "Dinner is served."

He snapped his fingers and plates and glasses appeared, as well as a large dish of Yorkshire Pudding. The five seated at the table requested their drink choice, and their glasses filled with another snap of Dobby's fingers.

"Dobby, could you do me a favor?" Harry asked.

"Dobby would be happy to help Harry Potter with anything," Dobby said.

"Whenever you have the time," Harry said, "Would you go out and search for clothing mannequins to purchase? Five mannequins sounds about right."

"Try St. Mungo's first," Remus said, "They may have a few extras on hand. For a price."

"Whatever price they request, pay it, if you believe it is reasonable," Harry said, "Understand?"

"Dobby understands and promises to have five mannequins at Potter Manor by the end of the day," Dobby said.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said, "Please place them in the basement when you purchase them. You are excused. Please thank the other kitchen elves for making dinner for us. Looks excellent."

Dobby smiled, his eyes misting over when the others voiced their thanks. He bowed and vanished.

"St. Mungo's is an excellent option for mannequins," Sirius said, "Dobby might be able to find the mannequins Healers' apprentices use for training. Those would be excellent to practice on."

"Aren't their mannequins usually hollow inside and filled with Potions resembling blood?" Tonks asked, "I think we used some of those during training at the Auror Academy."

"Indeed," Sirius said, "It makes it more realistic. That way, you're used to seeing blood during the missions."

"Ugh," Hermione said, "We're eating here. No more talk about our mission until dinner is over."

"As the Lady of the House commands," Sirius said, grinning.

Hermione glared. She might have looked a tad more dangerous if she wasn't blushing. Harry chuckled at the look on her face, and Hermione's lips turned up into a smile and she joined in laughing.

"Not for a few years, Sirius," Hermione said, when she sobered up, "Though I am glad you are practicing for that."

Sirius' jaw dropped in shock, and Hermione grinned. Then Sirius barked out a laugh and the others joined in. As he started in on his meal, Harry smiled. It was nice to see that only minutes after finishing a rather grim discussion, they could still laugh easily and joke about things. It was a good feeling that they would still be good people after their mission was over.

* * *

About an hour after dinner, Harry was relaxed on his new bed in a half-sitting position, as he begun to read the Potter Family Grimoire. Hedwig was currently outside, hunting for her own dinner. Harry had just finished taking a hot shower in his master Bath. He had granted Hermione permission to use the shower after taking his own. Now he was doing his best not to think about the fact that his girlfriend was naked and bathing on the other side of the bathroom door, a few feet away.

His new bed was absolutely comfortable, probably the most comfortable he had ever had, beating out his four-poster at Hogwarts and the one in the guest bedroom at the Granger House. He looked forward to full nights of sleep in the bed. His mind attempted to wander and think about the distant future, when he would have one, two or more girls in his bed with him. But he did his best to force those thoughts away. The fact that Hermione was taking a shower nearby didn't help much.

He cleared his throat and focused on the Grimoire. The first entry was not an enchantment, ritual or spell of any kind. It was actually a story, penned by Isabelle Peverell. It didn't take long for Harry to realize the story was similar to The Tale of the Three Brothers, by Beedle the Bard. In fact, this story seemed to be the same tale in the words of Ignotus Peverell, who told it to his family, whom passed it onto Isabelle. Harry wondered if Beedle the Bard had ancestors who were friends with the Potters of old, and the story was passed on and on until Beedle decided to use the story for profit. The story was different in spots, but in general it was the same story Harry had heard Hermione read in the Lovegood house in the old timeline.

At that moment, Hedwig flew back into the bedroom and landed on top of her cage. A dead field-mouse was hanging from her beak.

"Yummy," Harry joked.

Hedwig glanced at him, reproachfully.

"Sorry," Harry said, grinning, "Enjoy your dinner."

Hedwig hooted around the mouse.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Harry said, grinning.

Hedwig rolled her eyes and turned away from him. Harry sighed.

_Women, _he thought, disdainfully.

The door to the bathroom opened and Harry's eyes popped up over his book as he looked toward it. Hermione was dressed in pyjamas and had a towel wrapped around her head, packing all of her drying hair into it. Her pyjamas clung tightly to her body, making her curves more pronounced. Hermione smiled when she saw him looking and she walked over to the bed. Harry gulped audibly, his Adam's apple moving slightly as Hermione crawled onto the bed. She rolled her eyes when she saw him looking at her.

"No, I'm not sleeping in here, Harry," Hermione said, "We have a couple hours until bedtime. I have nothing better to do then sit here and talk while we're looking through the Grimoire."

"Didn't you mention something about exploring the library while we were on our tour?" Harry asked.

"If I went into the library tonight, I wouldn't leave until tomorrow morning and you know it!" Hermione said, smiling wryly.

"Well, I wasn't going to imply that at all," Harry said, grinning.

"Luckily the Potter Family library book collection seems to have survived the ten-plus years of an empty Manor," Hermione said, "I'll probably spend most of the summer looking through it all. Probably far more than that, given our summer will already be busy!"

"Hermione, this is your home too, you know," Harry said, "Second until you leave your parents' house. Third, if you count Hogwarts. You have your whole life to view that library."

"It definitely feels more at home than Hogwarts," Hermione said, "And I'll likely be here in the summer more than I would at my own home, at least until we get married. This does almost already feel like home to me. Don't tell my parents that though."

"I promise," Harry said.

Hermione removed the towel from her head, and shook her hair. Harry studied her as she did this and realized something. Her hair was no longer its long bushy mess. It was shorter, smoother, and fitted into a ponytail.

"Okay, either I am totally oblivious when it comes to my girlfriend," Harry said, "Or you changed your hair very recently."

"Tonks helped me with it while you were taking a shower," Hermione said, "I might have purposely ducked into the bathroom as fast as I could when you got out just so you wouldn't see it until I got done with my shower."

"And here I thought you were embarrassed to see me in only a towel," Harry said.

"You are very handsome in naught but a towel," Hermione said, "I can see why Tonks loves getting an eyeful during those moments."

Harry blushed lightly. Hermione giggled, pecked him on the lips, then curled up on the bed next to Harry and laid her head on his shoulder.

"You find what Remus was talking about yet?" Hermione asked.

"Are you mental?" Harry asked, "I jut got started with this. There is hundreds of pages in here. For all I know it could be in the latter fourth of the book, and here I am going from front to back!"

"So that would be a 'no'," Hermione said.

"Definitely," Harry said. "What do you think we're looking for anyway? Something to do with disguises, right? It has to do with a Potion. Something like Polyjuice Potion?"

"I doubt there is a recipe for Polyjuice Potion in this book," Hermione said, "Unless they made it taste better, or brew faster than a month. Entirely possible, but I don't think that is what we're looking for. Remus brought it up right after Tonks mentioned her own talent. I think it might have something to do more with Metamorphmagic than Polyjuice."

"Entirely possible," Harry said. "Damn. Wish this thing had a table of contents or index."

Hermione squeaked, then sat up. She stared forward for a few moments, then turned and kissed him again.

"You are absolutely brilliant!" Hermione said.

She hopped up from the bed, then ran out of the room.

"Oi!" Harry called after her, "At least tell me what you're doing!"

He sighed and glanced at Hedwig, who was looking at him.

"Don't you just hate it when she does that?" Harry asked.

Hedwig simply hooted. Harry shrugged and looked back at the Grimoire. A couple minutes later, Hermione returned with a book in hand and made her way back to the bed.

"Now can you tell me what you're doing?" Harry asked.

"When you mentioned an index, I realized something," Hermione said, as she started turning pages of her book, "There is a simple Charm used by librarians like Madam Pince. Mostly it is for large books with multiple subjects or topics."

"Like this one," Harry said.

"Exactly!" Hermione said, then gasped as she found a page, "Here it is! The Index Charm. Okay, you need to close the book and tap the cover with your wand and say _Indicum _followed by the keyword of choice. But it has to be specific. For example, if we're looking for disguises, there could be several pages with that word. Have to be more precise. Try... 'Metamorph'."

Harry grabbed his wand from the bedside table and tapped the book. "Indicum Metamorph!"

The book opened and started turning through several pages. A minute later, about halfway through the book it stopped on a page. The title at the top of the page read "Metamorph Jewelry."

"Let's see," Harry said, as he looked through the description. "There is indeed a Potion recipe there. The ingredients don't look too hard to come by. You choose any type of jewelry – be it ring, earring, necklace, bracelet, et cetera – and soak it in a small bowl filled with the Potion. Let it soak for five minutes. Then you take the jewelry from the bowl and, while placing the tip of your wand against jewelry, you say the incantation below. Blimey, that is – that is ten words!"

"_Wow_!" Hermione said, "Most incantations have only between one and four words. That is complex!"

"If successful, the jewelry in question will turn several colors before returning to its normal color," Harry continued. "Then, whilst wearing the jewelry, you simply envision yourself as any appearance. Human-shape appearance is recommended, and you can be anywhere from an elderly person all the way down to a baby. Though the baby isn't suggested, because during that form, you won't have the mental capabilities to return to normal usually. Either way, the Charm lasts for a total of three hours, but you can change different forms, or back to yourself during that three hours, and then automatically back to yourself when three hours are over. Then the charms have to recharge for six hours."

"That is brilliant!" Hermione said, "I've heard about enchanted jewelry, but never thought about what could be accomplished. This sounds really neat. Really useful. You're basically a Metamorphmagus for three hours at a time!"

"Wow," Harry said, chuckling, "Bet Remus didn't think we would find it so quickly."

"I don't think he realized I would know about the Index Charm," Hermione said.

"He doesn't know you very well, does he?" Harry said, grinning.

"No, no he does not," Hermione said.

"Pity on him," Harry said, "You are an absolutely brilliant witch and girlfriend. Don't let anyone tell you different."

Hermione blushed, and took the book from Harry, then set it aside.

"Er... Hermione?" Harry asked.

"I simply wish to reward my boyfriend for that compliment," Hermione said. "As well as quickly finishing his homework.

She leaned toward him and kissed him softly on the lips. He grinned against her lips and returned the kiss. As Harry deepened the kiss, Hermione moved her body around. Soon, she was sitting on top of him, her butt inches away from his crotch. Harry groaned under his breath as he tried to keep certain parts of his body calm. Hermione grinned and pointed her wand at the bedroom door, and it closed. Hermione then added a Muffliato Charm. Before Harry knew it, Hermione was unbuttoning the top of her pyjamas.

"Er... Hermione?" Harry repeated.

"We're not doing anything near _that, _Harry," Hermione said, "I simply wish to up our intimacy a little. I'm letting you see me... topless."

Harry's eyes widened when Hermione unbuttoned the last button then shrugged out of her pyjama top. She was not wearing a bra underneath. Harry had a full, unimpeded view of her Full B-sized breasts – not that Harry knew exactly what that meant. All Harry knew was that Hermione looked absolutely beautiful. And he told her so, when he found the words to speak.

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione said, smiling and blushing slightly.

Hermione's breasts were not the first pair Harry had ever seen. In fifth year, Seamus had brought a couple nude magazines, that he had passed around. Of course, all the women in those magazines were in their twenties, and Harry wasn't sure if their breasts were entirely natural.. Harry had also seen Ginny's once or twice during times when they snogged in hidden corners. But he was doing his best not to think of that, and he definitely wasn't going to compare.

And then something happened that stopped Harry from thinking about anything else but the current moment. Hermione grasped Harry's hands and slowly placed them at her breasts. Harry cupped them softly in his palms, hoping this is what she wanted, and kneaded the skin of her breasts against his palms. Hermione murmured softly at his touch, and Harry groaned when she started wriggling her bottom half against him in response.

"Please don't squirm," Harry groaned. "I'm rather enjoying this and I don't want to have to go back to the bathroom. So unless there is something else on your mind, involving certain parts of my body..."

Hermione blushed and stopped moving. "Oops! I'm sorry!"

"That's... alright," Harry grunted; in reality he was doing his best control himself – not an easy task!

Hermione guided his hands with her own, as she showed him what she wanted and liked. He found that she apparently really liked it when he palmed her nipples, which became pointy against his hands. Hermione moaned softly as Harry focused his massaging on the center point of her breasts. She leaned down toward him and kissed him passionately on the lips. As he kissed her back, she encouraged him to continue his massage against her breasts.

They continued snogging for a few more minutes, until suddenly, Hermione whimpered against his mouth. She gasped and pulled herself off of him then blushed until her face was entirely red. She then cleared her throat and pointed her wand at herself and waved it around.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, slightly concerned.

"I'm perfectly fine, Harry," Hermione said, inhaling and exhaling, "_Very _fine actually. Well, I didn't realize..."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

"You gave me an _orgasm _by simply playing with my breasts," Hermione said, her cheeks turning slightly pink, "I just... didn't know I was capable of that, with only breast stimulation!"

"Um... oh," Harry said, "Ah... you're welcome?"

Hermione giggled and pecked him on the lips. "You're cute when you're feeling awkward."

Hermione backed away and put her pyjama top back on. Harry cleared his throat and picked up the Grimoire, then opened it back to the page he was originally on. He wasn't actually reading at the moment, just doing his best to concentrate on anything but what had just taken place. If only so he wouldn't require a trip to the bathroom.

When her shirt was back on normally, Hermione laid her head back on Harry's shoulder.

"Are you okay, Harry?" she asked, quietly.

Harry was about to say that he was 'fine' when he realized she likely didn't mean it that way.

"Are you worried I didn't like that?" he asked, "Because I did. You surprised me. I had no idea you were ready for anything like that. Is this – does this have anything to do with... with Tonks or the other girls."

"No," Hermione said, then sighed, "Not really. It's just... I suppose if things were different. If we hadn't come back in time, if we had won that battle and you killed Voldemort. And we had begun to start our new lives together... I just wondered if our relationship would – you know – turn more... sexual... sooner rather than later. We were at that proper age. I just wanted to feel a part of that, I suppose. We can go back to normal snogs and heated kisses if you want."

"Whatever you want, Hermione," Harry said, "We can go as natural as you want. I wouldn't suggest sex yet, but..."

He grinned when she nudged him playfully.

"I know what you mean," she said, "Thank you. I just wanted to make your first night in your new home somewhat memorable."

"You succeeded," Harry said.

"I'm happy," Hermione said, "Well, that's rather an understatement I suppose. Merlin, I didn't expect it to go so far! Harry? I love you. I truly mean that."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry said.

He kissed the top of her head, which felt different than before since her hair was no longer a large bush. He liked it.

The young couple relaxed together as Harry started to read Isabelle's story for Hermione.

Hedwig smiled in her own little way from the top of her cage as she watched her owner and his mate. Of course, to be proper, she had tucked her head in her wing when the couple got a little heated with their sort-of mating ritual. Humans were very weird sometimes! But overall, she was very happy for her owner and friend. He was finally in a home he truly deserved.

* * *

**Good place to end it. You're welcome for that little squeeze of lime (is that the right term?) at the end of the chapter. I got inspired by a reviewer wanting Harry and Hermione to turn the heat up a little.**

**I am planning some Harry/Tonks stuff in the future, I just don't know when it will happen! But it will happen sometime.**

**Did you like my idea for the Metamorph Jewelry and Index Charm? Came up with that on my own. I was debating whether it would take two or three in-story days for Harry to find the Metamorph Jewelry, but I like how I did it.**

**So I truly hoped you liked this whole chapter. It was basically a tease of what is to come in the assassination storyline.**

**Next chapter: A short time-skip of a little less than a week, describing training for the assassination mission, as well as a couple actual scenes depicting parts of the situational training. I have a lot of good plans for the training alone. It get intense at times! Then, Amelia and Susan visit Potter Manor. And maybe (if I can figure out a good scene) Tonks visiting the Ministry of Magic. Possibly more. We'll see!**


	36. Training Day

**Chapter 36  
Training Day**

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. My keyboard decided it wanted to die so I had to replace it.**

**Also, my story recently passed two more milestones. 2500+ reviews and 5000+ followers! Thanks to every one of you who has followed and reviewed this story. I've never gotten close to 5000 followers on a story before. And 2500 reviews is amazing and I'm not entirely sure this story is halfway over yet, so there could be twice that many reviews by the time it is finished! So thanks!**

**So, uh... parts of this chapter came out of nowhere. But it got really, really amusing in places. I love this chapter so much. Amelia and Susan's visit won't happen until next chapter.**

**Thanks everyone for voting on the poll. It is now done. Antonin Dolohov and Walden MacNair won the poll. Yaxley came in third. Might have him as one of the targets since he had so many votes.**

* * *

**Sunday, June 30****th****, 1994**

The following morning, after a wonderful night's rest in her comfortable new bed, Hermione Granger stepped out of her bedroom and crept down the hall toward Harry's room. She opened the door slightly and peered inside. She smiled when she found Harry still asleep, snuggled into his blankets. He looked so peaceful and adorable when he was asleep. No worries about anything while in the safety of his slumber. She wondered if he was dreaming of anything. Perhaps he was dreaming something similar to what happened the previous evening.

Hermione blushed as her mind began to wander back to the previous evening. She had decided in the middle of her shower to try something new in her relationship with Harry. Even then, it took her a good amount of that Gryffindor courage to decide to straddle Harry and remove her pyjama top revealing her breasts to him. Even more courage to let him touch and fondle her. She had been quite worried about what he would think of her breasts. They were only Full B's at the moment, and would grow nearly another full cup size by the time she turned eighteen.

She also knew Harry had seen breasts before – during the summer before the Horcrux hunt, Ginny had bragged to her that Harry had seen her breasts. Hermione had to control her jealousy, at the time, that Ginny had gotten to a point in her relationship with Harry before their breakup to become that intimate with him. She had never told Ginny about her feelings for Harry. She knew it would only cause issues between them, and back then, Ginny had been her best girlfriend, almost like a little sister.

When she saw Harry's expression the moment he first saw her breasts, Hermione had known she shouldn't have worried at all. He thought she was beautiful. His compliment had almost made her reach her high point at that moment! Hermione blushed as she thought of the moment she _did _reach her orgasm. She still couldn't believe Harry was able to do that to her, just by playing with her breasts! It made her feel confident that she would be able to please him in the future. And it made her love him even more.

Hermione silently closed Harry's door, turned and started making her way through the second floor corridors. As she passed Tonks' room, she could hear the older witch moving around – obviously she was getting dressed for the day.

Hermione smiled when she thought about the half-hour she had spent with Tonks the previous night. Tonks might behave more like a tomboy than a young lady, but she knew her way around beauty techniques, especially when it came to charms! She had been quite impressed when Tonks had been able to successfully turn her bush of wild hair into a smooth, short and beautiful length, simple enough for a ponytail – all with scissors and her wand. Hermione had asked her how she was so good at it, since she could change her hair into anything in a blink of an eye. Tonks replied that she learned a lot of beauty techniques in woman's magazines she read while trying to get ideas for different appearances.

Hermione wondered if she should use that technique, now that she would be something similar to a Metamorphmagus for a few hours at a time, all thanks to the Metamorph Jewelry.

She continued down the corridor, not stopping at all when she passed the library. She had other things she needed to be doing that day. She could _not _distract herself with random books that had nothing to do with her current mission. They could wait for later. Besides, as Harry had said the previous night, she had her whole life to explore the library.

She made her way to the main floor of the Manor and soon arrived at the Event Room, where she found Remus sitting alone at the small circular table. He was eating breakfast, while reading a book and jotting down notes. His talent at multitasking reminded Hermione of herself.

"Good morning, Remus," Hermione said, as she sat down at the table.

"Greetings," Remus said, smiling over his book.

"What are you reading?" Hermione asked.

"Reeducating myself in the art of Warding and Protective Enchantments," Remus said. "Something I haven't thought about since Seventh Year at Hogwarts. I'm trying to figure out the common Wards we might run into at the Death Eater residences. I want to try to apply the Wards to the Greenhouse out back and have the house-elves overcharge them. I'm wondering if they're going to have to overcharge each ward, or if they can do it all at once. Or both, in some cases. For example, the Alarm Charms need to be taken out first so we don't alert the residents. Also, I'm hoping to come upon some type of advanced silencing technique, so that when the Wards do get destroyed, it doesn't make a sound loud enough to wake anyone."

"I wish I could be of some assistance," Hermione said, "But I skipped my Seventh Year to hunt for the Horcruxes."

"Bet that wasn't the easiest decision to make," Remus said, smiling wryly.

"I cried myself to sleep the night I made that decision," Hermione said, in a joking manner, "I did hope I'd be able to make up my Seventh Year the following year, but obviously, things happened differently. And here we are."

"Hopefully this time there will be no reason to drop out of Hogwarts," Remus said, smiling.

"Fingers crossed," Hermione said; she glanced at his breakfast, and realized it was a beef steak, a bit on the rare side – then she realized why it was his breakfast. "Remus? When is the full moon?"

"Tomorrow," Remus said, smiling grimly, "Don't worry. I'm already preparing myself. Sirius surprised me with a supply of Wolfsbane a couple nights ago, enough for this cycle. Had my first dose yesterday, and I'll take my second this afternoon and third tomorrow. I still can't believe I messed up so badly earlier this month. I know better than that."

"With everything we know Dumbledore has done," Hermione said, "Do you think it is possible he compelled you to forget to take the potion?"

"I don't know," Remus said, sighing, "My mental capabilities are tougher than usual. Actually, I think Severus Snape is to blame more for this one. He delivered the last potion rather late. I was out on the Grounds doing my rounds, and had full intention on taking the Potion when everything happened. I had the Marauder's Map with me, so I had been searching for students, and had seen you, Harry and Ron out and about. I suppose I thought I could escort you in, and still have time to take my Potion before heading out to the Shrieking Shack. Now I know it was a mistake, and it will _never _happen again."

"Where are you transforming?" Hermione asked, "Is there a place here on the Grounds?"

"No," Remus said, "I'm going back to my old haunt – my parents' old cottage. The cottage was attacked and burned to the ground during the Great War. My parents were dead by then. But the cellar I transformed and stayed in during the full moon survived. It will be the first time in many, many years that Sirius and I get to run together. I wouldn't call what happened earlier this month a Full Moon Run like we used to do."

"I was thinking of something last night when Harry was showing me his family's Grimoire," Hermione said, "Did the Marauders learn how to become an Animagus by reading stuff in the Grimoire?"

"You would think so, since James showed us so much in that book," Remus said, "But no, it wasn't in there. At least not then. James wrote out the process in full detail in the Grimoire when he finally took possession of it. He thought his future children might use it to learn the process." He sighed, wistfully, "Actually he hoped _he _would be the one to teach his children."

"Would you and Sirius teach Harry and I how to become Animagi?" Hermione asked.

Remus smiled. "I'll tell you what. Right now you and Harry are both focused on this end-game mission of yours with defeating Voldemort, and this summer is pretty busy as it is. How about next summer, if you're successful with your plan, Sirius and I can teach you and Harry then. And I suppose his other future wives could join us if they wish. I'm not saying you'll complete the process by the time next summer ends. I'd be astounded if you did, actually. But it will give you something to work on, since next summer may not be as eventful as this one."

"Alright," Hermione said, nodding, "I can agree with that."

Harry and Tonks both walked into the Event Room a moment later and sat down at the table, then greeted Remus and Hermione. Harry had his Grimoire with him. Hermione smiled when Harry kissed on the cheek in extra greeting. She blushed lightly when she noticed Remus smiling mischievously as he watched them.

Remus cleared his throat. "So now that Harry is here, I suppose I should mention something. Thought I would clear things up a bit. I went by your room last night, Harry, simply to check and see if you had settled in well. And – well – the door was closed and magically locked and muffled. And Hermione was nowhere to be found elsewhere in the house."

Hermione squeaked and tried to keep her cheeks from blushing. Harry was staring at his book, and had a small smile on his face. Tonks was studying the two of them carefully with an odd smile.

"It's not what you think!" Hermione said, embarrassed that her voice sounded so high, then she cleared her throat. "Well, I suppose it was. But not exactly."

"What was that my Dad asked me the first time I fooled around with a boy?" Tonks said, talking out loud to herself. "Something American. Definitely Muggle. Oh, yes! Baseball term... what base did the two of you get to last night?"

Harry coughed, and glanced at Hermione out of the corner of his eyes.

"Ah... Second?" Hermione said, trying to remember the Baseball metaphor for intimacy.

"Way to go, Harry!" Tonks said, grinning; she snickered when Harry blushed, then she turned to Remus, "Do you know what means, Remus, or do I have to try to come up with the correct Quidditch metaphor? I might be wrong, though. My mother is a Healer, she didn't use Quidditch metaphors with me."

"My sympathies," Hermione said, "My mum was the same way. Twice."

Remus looked very amused. "I believe I know what that means. Don't worry, kids. I'm not here to scold you for anything you might do. I'm not your parents. Did Sirius, myself, or another male role model talk to you about magical contraception in the previous timeline, Harry?"

"Molly made Arthur do it the summer before fourth year in the last timeline, whilst I was at the Burrow," Harry said, "I clearly remember it, thanks. Not that I have had to use it yet."

"'Yet' is the keyword," Tonks said; then she grinned as she looked past Harry and Hermione, "Sirius! There you are. You missed quite the conversation, cousin. Blackmail material!"

"Does this have anything to do with those few minutes in which Harry's bedroom door had a Muffliato Charm on it?" Sirius asked, as he sat down at the table.

Hermione groaned and buried her head in her hands.

"Ah, so that would have been your spell-work," Sirius said, "Future note, Hermione. Apply the Muffliato to the curtains of the bed – ah, crap. The beds here don't have those. Well, conjure curtains and apply the charms."

"Or just magically lock the doors, which you apparently did," Tonks said.

"Never stopped Sirius," Remus said.

"I was young and mostly immature back then!" Sirius said, "So... how far did you get, Harry? I know Muggle baseball metaphors! My one girlfriend, who was not a one-night stand, aside from Amy was a Muggleborn, just to piss off my parents, and baseball metaphors for sex was just one of the many things she taught me! So which one was it?"

"Second base," Tonks said.

"Good man!" Sirius said, grinning. "Godfather duty time. Been given the Sex Talk, kid?"

"Yes," Harry muttered.

"Know the Contraceptive Charms?" Sirius said.

"Yes," Harry muttered.

"There you go then," Sirius said, "Do it yourself. Don't rely on the girl to have done the charm herself, or have taken a Contraceptive Draught."

"I take offense to that!" Tonks said, and Hermione nodded her head in agreement.

"No offense meant!" Sirius said, "I'm just saying that advice prevented a lot of pups being sired by this dog."

"Odd visual images, Sirius," Hermione said, "Thanks."

"Okay, then, change of subject," Harry said, "Remus, you'll be happy to know that I have finished my homework."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Already? Hermione helped you, didn't she?"

"Did you really think I had never heard of the Index Charm?" Hermione asked.

"Ah," Remus said, "I had momentarily forgotten I was working with the smartest witch of her age."

"Yes, well, next time you'll remember that," Harry said, then tapped his wand on the cover of the Grimoire, "Indicum Metamorph."

A few moments later, the book was open to the Metamorph Jewelry page.

"I assume this was what you were talking about?" Harry asked.

"Indeed," Remus said, "I figured we'll need at least two pieces of jewelry a piece, to last us six hours a night, since they last for three hours a piece.. Hermione, you'll have the easiest choice. You can simply wear two earrings, and we can enchant them both. My best bet would be to buy some costume jewelry. As long as it is gold or silver – no, it wouldn't affect me, it isn't pure silver – it can be enchanted. Well, then I suppose we should take a shopping trip to get the supplies. After breakfast, so we can begin training this afternoon."

"Good plan," Sirius said, "Speaking of shopping, I spoke to Dobby earlier. He was looking for you, Harry, but you were asleep. He purchased five mannequins from St. Mungo's last night, and was able to get them for fifty galleons a piece. A deal, since the training mannequins usually go for one-hundred a piece. I guess he got a discount because they were technically used. They're currently in the basement. When we go by the Apothecary, to buy ingredients for the Metamorph Jewelry, we can also get some ingredients for the fake blood used in the mannequins."

Hermione grimaced. "Once again, I'm too hungry to lose my appetite."

Harry chuckled and called for Melina. The elf appeared and delivered breakfast for those who hadn't eaten yet.

* * *

Life at the Manor became quite busy once the group returned from Diagon Alley. At the marketplace, they had purchased several Potions ingredients as well as some costume jewelry that was much cheaper than normal jewelry, but still passable for the Metamorph Jewelry enchantment.

In the Manor's basement, Remus and Sirius built a Potions Laboratory on Sunday afternoon. There, they started brewing the Metamorphmagus Jewelry Potion, and the fake blood Potion for the mannequins.

Meanwhile, in a separate section of the basement, Harry and Hermione set up two of the mannequins – The other three mannequins would be filled with the fake blood Potion and used for the situation training - and resumed their knife-throwing training, practicing distance and speed. Unlike their normal training, Harry and Hermione were now using the actual throwing knives they had purchased at the sporting goods store, instead of their pocket knives. Remus had been watching them during their training from afar while working at the Potions Lab. After several minutes of watching Harry and Hermione have to retrieve their knives when they threw them, Remus called for them to stop.

"Notice something we're doing wrong?" Hermione asked.

"Your accuracy, distance and speed are excellent, I will give you that," Remus said, "However, every time you throw your knife, you have to retrieve it by hand."

"So then we should summon them?" Harry asked.

"Yes, but not with your wand," Remus said, "The point in using your knives is if your wand gets disarmed. Correct?"

"Or close combat when spells could become too dangerous," Hermione said.

"Well, if you don't have your wand, you can't summon your knife very easily, now can you?" Remus asked, "Fortunately, I have another idea."

Remus conjured a wooden block, then picked up one of the Potions knives and began carving into it. Then he took a quill and wrote something on his hand. He levitated the block then sent it floating across the basement and placed it on the center of the floor. He then set his wand down and walked away from it. He held out his hand, then closed his eyes. Suddenly, his hand began to sparkle, and the wooden block flew across the basement and settled into hand.

"Bloody hell," Harry gasped, "How did you do that?"

"Wandless magic?" Hermione guessed.

"No," Remus said, as he walked over to Harry and Hermione, "Though some might see it as wandless magic."

He showed them the block and his hand. Carved into the block was a runic symbol. Written on his hand in ink was the same symbol.

"Runic magic!" Hermione gasped.

"Indeed," Remus said, "This is a summoning rune. It is taught to you in Ancient Runes in your seventh year. But it is a bit more complex then that. You have to vision the object coming toward you in your mind's eye. And it can only work on the object which has the runic symbol on it."

"Mind's eye?" Harry asked, "Isn't that Divination talk?"

Remus smiled and shook his head. "Professor Trelawney might tell you that the mind's eye is merely used for Divination. But in literal talk, it is just picturing something in your mind. In this case, your knife, coming toward you and into your hand."

"Ah, won't that be dangerous?" Harry asked, "I mean... a knife flying through the air back toward us. It could stab us."

"True," Remus conceded, nodding, "Which is why you need to practice. First, you'll practice with objects like this block. Then once you've mastered that, we can move to the knives. I can enchant the knives to blunt them. It won't actually harm the knives, but they won't harm you either. Once you're able to catch the knives at a speed that could be useful in combat, then, and only then will we sharpen the knives again. I doubt you'll be able to master that all today. So that is what you'll work on when we're not doing situation training."

Remus instructed the young couple on how to draw the runic symbol on their palms, and carve it onto the object. They would have to draw the symbol on their palms every single time they wanted to use the knives, so Remus made sure they understood how to do it. Over the next few hours, whilst they were waiting for the Metamorphmagus Jewelry Potion to brew, Harry and Hermione practiced the runic Summoning, as they attempted to summon the wooden blocks. By the time the Potion was finished, they were able to summon the blocks at various speeds and distances. Remus was thrilled with their progress, and said they could move onto blunt knives the following day, after their first session of situation training.

Once the Potion was done, Harry, Hermione, Sirius and Remus each placed two pieces of jewelry in bowls filled with the Potion. Hermione had two earrings, Harry had a ring and a necklace, Sirius had a ring and an earring, and Remus had a ring, and a bracelet. Once the jewelry was soaked in the Potion for the required time, Remus taught them how to perform the incantation. He wished for them to do the incantations for their own jewelry, deciding it was a good 'teachable moment.' Shocking both of them, Harry and Hermione were able to get the incantations correct the very first time. Their jewelry turned several colors before returning to its normal form – exactly what the instructions in the Grimoire had said.

Harry and Hermione were rather disappointed when Remus told them they couldn't try the jewelry immediately. They needed to think about what disguises they would use, and advised them on using something original, and not copying off of someone they knew at Hogwarts or in their own lives. So for the remainder of Sunday, Harry and Hermione focused on both coming up with disguises, as well as working on more strategies for their situation training.

* * *

The next few days at Potter Manor, were busy and exciting for Harry and Hermione as they went through situation training. They also learned quite a lot. On Monday, Harry and Hermione learned that the strategies they thought were excellent and nearly infallible, weren't so infallible at all.

Remus and Sirius had decided that the situational training should be in steps. The first step was maneuvering through the house and corridors, making sure every room they encountered was empty. Once they could stealthily maneuver through the house and reach their destination, then they would move on to the next step.

The very first time Harry and Hermione tried to sneak through Potter Manor, while they were sneaking through the bottom floor, making sure any rooms they passed were empty, before they would head for the second floor, they learned they had already made mistakes fairly quickly. Dobby – who had been instructed to listen for any possible signs of an 'intruder' in the house; he was rather confused when he learned Harry and Hermione should be seen as intruders – had caught the young pair almost immediately.

They had thought that the Invisibility Cloak and Disillusionment Charms would work, but had forgotten they could still be heard. It wasn't until they were caught for the third time in a row, that Hermione realized what they had done wrong. She told Harry to apply the Muffliato Charm to his shoes, and did the same herself. The idea had worked, and both Remus and Sirius were quite impressed when they had made it to their destination. The Marauders congratulated Harry and Hermione for thinking of a perfect way to get by house-elves.

Harry and Hermione had a lot of fun deciding on disguises. Because their targets were mostly purebloods, they knew it was a rare chance that any of their targets would recognize Muggle movie characters. Hermione had come up with the brilliant idea of using human characters from Disney animated movies. The problem was that Harry had never watched the movies, and Potter Manor was too magical to allow electronics like televisions and video players. So, Hermione had requested to go to a Muggle bookstore, Monday afternoon, where she picked out several children's stories that were basically Disney movies in book-form. Harry and Hermione picked out various characters for their disguises. Harry chose Aladdin, Prince Eric from _The Little Mermaid, _and the human form of the Beast from _Beauty and the Beast. _Hermione chose Jasmine, Ariel, and Belle.

Whenever they weren't assisting Harry and Hermione with their situation training, Remus and Sirius were training the house-elves to overcharge wards. They had put together several wards on the greenhouse, and had the house-elves overcharge them. Because these wards weren't connected to the wards around Potter Manor, the overcharged wards did not damage the others. It took a total of three days before Remus and Sirius were satisfied that the house-elves could overcharge the wards with enough power to destroy them. They also were happy to learn that they could split the house-elves into two teams, so they could work on two locations at once. The only downside was it took five elves a bit longer to overcharge wards than it did with ten. Remus and Sirius had debated whether using ten at once, then sending them to a different location. They decided against it, unless they became desperate.

* * *

**Friday, July 4th, 1994**

The fourth of July. Across the pond, the citizens of the United States of America were celebrating Independence Day. At Potter Manor, in Northampton, Harry and Hermione hoped they would have something to celebrate by the end of the day. Today was their last scheduled day of situation training. It was now or never. They needed to impress Remus and Sirius, or they would have to agree to put off their assassination missions for _another week. _

It was their first session of the morning. Harry and Hermione were disguised as Prince Eric and Ariel from _The Little Mermaid_. They had just made their way to the second floor of Potter Manor, having avoided detection by house-elves thanks to their muffled footsteps. They were currently sneaking through the corridor, tip-toeing along the walls. When they reached a fork in the corridor, Harry stopped Hermione, and peered around the corner. He could hear no footsteps, nor see any signs of mannequins, representing a random, unplanned target walking through the corridor to or from a bathroom.

He motioned for Hermione to move forward, and pointed his wand down the hallway, in case something or someone appeared. Hermione started to slowly walk her way down the corridor and Harry followed behind her, looking over his shoulder for anyone behind him. When they made it to the target bedroom, they stood along the wall on either side of the door. Hermione waved her wand along the doorway, then gave a thumbs-up signal, meaning there were no locking or protective enchantments on the door. Harry stood at the door and pointed his wand forward, while Hermione opened the door.

Harry stepped into the room, followed by Hermione. She remained at the door, in case anyone came in. Harry slowly walked forward and pointed to his target, a mannequin on the bed "sleeping". Harry could only see its head and neck. The rest of its body was covered by a blanket. Harry pointed his wand at the target and whispered "Stupefy!" Then he made a slicing maneuver with his wand, and muttered "Diffindo!". The "skin" on the mannequin's neck sliced open as fake blood began pouring from it.

"Congratulations," Remus Lupin said, as he appeared from under a Disillusionment Charm on the far side of the room. "You just killed an innocent."

Harry stared at Remus. "What?"

Remus pointed his wand at the bed, and the blanket floated away from the mannequin. Harry's eyes widened as he saw that the mannequin was the size of a child.

"Your target was Lucius Malfoy," Remus said, "You just killed Draco Malfoy. I believe we agreed that the children were to be left alone."

"I could clearly see the mannequin's face," Harry argued, "I think I would have known if it was Draco."

"What if his face was turned to the side?" Remus asked, "Or facing his pillow?"

"You told us the target was in this bedroom!" Hermione said.

"How can I possibly know where the targets sleep at night?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows. "You don't know which bedroom holds your target. Your true target is actually down the corridor in a different bedroom."

"So Draco Malfoy is dead," Harry said, "I move on and kill his father."

"Harry!" Hermione scolded, "We agreed -"

"Casualty of war," Harry cut in.

"Maybe, maybe not," Hermione said, "But what if you mistook him for his father? What if you assumed you just killed Lucius? A few days later, we find Draco Malfoy was discovered dead with his throat slit, and Lucius Malfoy is alive and well?"

"And very very angry wanting to avenge his son," Remus said, "The point of this exercise was to make you aware that your target won't always be in the first bedroom you come to."

"Make sure the person we're about to kill is actually our target," Harry said.

"Correct," Remus said, "The good news is you were able to maneuver through the corridors correctly. Now, you just need to find your correct targets. Let's do this again."

Over the next few hours, Harry and Hermione continued the situational training. When their first piece of Metamorph Jewelry ran out of juice, they used their second piece. During the final test, Remus warned them that there would be a surprise they had not encountered yet through the entire week of training. Harry was sure either Remus, Sirius or Tonks was going to be waiting for them, awake and ready to duel, in case that situation happened. But this was not the case.

It didn't take long to realize what this surprise was. During their exploration of the first floor of the manor, in which they were clearing out the rooms, they encountered a mannequin "asleep" on a couch in the sitting room. Hermione used a Stunning spell, followed by a Diffindo to slit its throat. When neither Remus, Sirius, nor Tonks met with them to say they had succeeded in their mission, Hermione realized there was a second target in the house. So they continued searching, which led them to the second floor. Once again, they found what appeared to be a child mannequin in one of the bedrooms, and passed it up. They didn't find their other target until they reached Harry's bedroom. The mannequin was "asleep" on the bed.

Harry pointed his wand at the mannequin, Stunned it, then conjured a bubble-head charm over its head. Then he filled the bubble with water, to "drown" the target. When he noticed Hermione was about to celebrate, he shook his head and raised a finger to his mouth to silence her. Remus, Sirius, and Tonks had not come to tell them it was a success yet. Harry realized what he needed to do. He pointed his wand at the mannequin, and levitated it, the bubble still on its head. He levitated it over to the bathroom, and motioned to Hermione. She muffled the doorway so it wouldn't squeak – a squeaky door earlier that week had brought Dobby to them to tell them they had failed – and opened it. Harry guided the mannequin into the bathroom and placed into the hot tub, so that its whole body would be immersed under water. Then he filled the tub.

Harry grinned when he heard applause and turned around. Remus walked into the room, and Sirius and Tonks were behind him.

"Excellent work," Remus said, "I'd give you an O for that. First for realizing there were two targets, Hermione. And bonus points for making the victim appear to have died due to accidental drowning."

"Though if there really two targets," Sirius said, "You'd have to do something about the guy downstairs with his throat slit."

"We should discuss that," Tonks said, "What do we do with the bodies? Leave them for someone to find, or take them elsewhere."

"Who here knows how to do human to object transfigurations?" Harry asked; Remus, Sirius and Tonks raised their hands. "You could transfigure them into something like bones, or smaller items, and we can hide them."

"Ooh, idea!" Sirius said, "We could put them all in one building after all is said and done. Dead bodies everywhere. Death Eater meeting gone wrong."

"It could possibly work," Remus said, "We'll decide it before tomorrow night. Now, the elves will have dinner ready shortly. Your Metamorph jewelry will probably run out very soon. Place them somewhere so they can recharge. We'll take care of the mannequins."

Half-an-hour later, the five residents, permanent or temporary, of Potter Manor were seated around the dinner table dining on a delicious lasagna. They were discussing the training over the last week.

"Are the house-elves ready for tomorrow night?" Harry asked.

"Yes, they are," Remus said, "They know about our time-turner idea. One house-elf will remain here in case something happens while we're gone. The others will split into teams of five: Dobby leading one group, Melina leading the other. If we encounter very strong wards at a location, we'll simply bring all ten house-elves together."

"Sounds good," Harry said, "Another question. Why did we never train for the possibility that we might encounter a target that we have to duel?"

"Several reasons," Sirius said, "One, because I will always be with the two of you. We may split up at the location, but I'll be nearby. I doubt we'll find more than one or two targets at a location. Two with the Carrows, yes, and possibly others if they have decided to be room-mates after leaving Azkaban. So it will always be three on one or two. Most of the targets we will encounter are fairly weak due to Azkaban. I believe we'll be able to overwhelm them if it does end up in a duel."

"But that is a rarity in itself," Remus said, "We've trained the house-elves to be stealthy when they take down the wards, so they don't wake anyone up. And it will be the middle of the night. So more likely than not they'll be asleep."

"Also, dueling us wouldn't be exactly like dueling anyone else," Tonks said, "We might have different dueling styles than they do. If you were to fight with one mind-set, and they were to duel with another, it could mess you up."

"How well _can _you duel?" Remus asked.

"Well enough to survive," Harry said.

Hermione nodded.

"You two will _always _stick together while at these locations," Remus said, "You work better together. You trained that way all week. It is an excellent strategy. With Sirius nearby, you should be fine."

"I have a question, though it has nothing to do with our training," Hermione said, "Are any of you skilled in Legilimency?"

Remus and Tonks shook their heads.

"I used to be," Sirius said, "But I need to train myself again. Why?"

"As you know, Harry and I have been training our Occlumency," Hermione said, "But we need somebody to test it."

"Amelia could do it," Sirius said.

"Yes, but there is a chance she could find out our time-travel secret," Hermione said.

"Well," Sirius said, "You could always tell her about your secret. I trust her with my life. She'd keep it silent. You could explain it to her tomorrow. Though I would advise we tell her nothing about our upcoming mission, unless she confronts us about it. Then we explain why we did it. She would understand and likely congratulate us rather than arrest us."

"If we tell her tomorrow," Hermione said, looking at Harry, "We may have to tell Susan too. We can't just have a conversation with Amelia and expect Susan to go off alone in the Manor during our conversation. What do you think, Harry? She is your Betrothed. We could tell Daphne and Luna later, as well?"

"They don't know Occlumency, though," Harry said, "Dumbledore could snatch it from their minds."

"I'm quite sure Susan knows it well enough," Sirius said, "Amelia would have taught her just to protect herself."

"Then we can teach Daphne and Luna before we tell them," Hermione said.

Harry nodded. "Alright. We can tell them."

"Excellent," Sirius said, "We'll do that tomorrow during the planned brunch. Shame you'll miss it, Tonks."

"If you tell them anything I don't know about, I'll hex you," Tonks said, "Then get it out of you."

Harry grinned. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good," Tonks said, "My task is too important to skip anyway just to be here for a conversation like that."

"Are you ready for it?" Harry asked.

"Yep!" Tonks said, "While you've been training, I've been hard at work going over my plans. Unfortunately, I might have to Obliviate innocent people. Ah, well. Especially if I have to pose as Amelia to get into her office. Her secretary would tell Amelia later, and I'd be screwed!"

"Just be careful," Hermione said.

"Always am!" Tonks said, grinning.

The rest of dinner went peacefully. But everyone's minds were on their upcoming missions. Harry knew he would soon be responsible for ending several lives. And he knew that was something he couldn't train himself for; the mentality of taking a life.

* * *

**I do apologize for the sort of lengthy delay in getting this chapter out! And I didn't get everything in it I had promised! Ah well.**

**So I loved some of the situation training ideas I had. The whole "accidental innocent victim killing" part turned out excellent.**

**Next chapter: Amelia and Susan visit Potter Manor, and Harry and Hermione reveal their secret to them. Assassinations begin in TWO chapters! (I promise!)**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**

**Additional Note: Yes, Hermione's choice of Belle as a disguise was sort of a shout-out to the fact that Emma Watson will be Belle in the Beauty and the Beast movie.**


	37. Brunch With The Bones

**Chapter 37  
Brunch With The Bones**

**Author's Note: Another milestone passed for the story. 1 Million views passed! Thank you to all of you for reading my story!**

**There were a few great ideas from reviewers last chapter, including one that I hadn't thought of, but should have. A portion of one of the first parts of this chapter is inspired by one of those ideas.**

* * *

**Saturday, July 5th, 1994**

On Saturday morning, three hours before Amelia and Susan Bones would visit Potter Manor, Harry stepped out of the Master Bath, wrapped in a towel after a nice shower, and nearly jumped out of his towel when he found Hermione sitting on his bed, in her pyjamas.

"I am much too young to have a heart attack, Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, "Couldn't you have warned me you were waiting?"

"I actually did," Hermione said, "But you must have had your head under the water."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I assume you wish to use the shower."

"It is much better than the shower in the normal bathroom," Hermione said. "The normal one doesn't have the options of water speed and power like this one does."

"I'm sure if you ask Melina, she could modify it so it does work that way," Harry said.

"But then I wouldn't have an excuse to use your shower," Hermione said, "At least for a few more years."

"Yes, well, I need to get dressed," Harry said.

"I need to talk to you about something," Hermione said, "Can I conjure a bed curtain for you, and you can dress while I talk?"

"Or I could ask one of the house-elves to do it," Harry said.

"These are only temporary," Hermione said, "I'm sure you don't want permanent ones."

Harry shrugged. "Good point. Alright."

Hermione waved her wand toward his bed and muttered something under her breath. Curtains resembling those around his four-poster bed in his old dormitory at Hogwarts appeared. Harry made his way onto the bed, thankful for the foresight to have picked out clothes before his shower. He had chosen semi-formal robes since Amelia and Susan was visiting.

"So I was thinking of something regarding Susan's visit," Hermione said, outside the curtains, as Harry started to dress, "I realized you have not been able to spend any alone time with her since you found out she's one of your Betrothed. She was either with her Aunt, or with us and our friends, and your other Betrothed. Well, I was wondering if you wanted to spend some alone time with her."

"Um... maybe," Harry said, "Though I'm not sure what we'd do..."

"Oh, I'm sure I could think of a few things," Hermione said.

"Hermione!" Harry said, aghast, "What makes you think –?"

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione cut in, with a laugh, "Mind. Gutter. Out. I was not talking about anything like that. Though if you wanted to snog her, I wouldn't care as she is one of your future wives. I _meant _– well – the front of the Grounds have those beautiful gardens and walking areas, and that small hedge maze. You could walk with her around those areas and just talk and get to know each other. If you do so after we reveal our secret, then I'm sure there will be some things she would want to talk about."

"And what would you do if you were alone?" Harry asked. "One of the reasons we're entertaining her, is so that Remus and Sirius can discuss the investigation on Dumbledore with Amelia."

"Well," Hermione said, "I have not had a chance to explore the library. I might do that."

Harry snorted. "That would give Susan and I a fair amount of alone time, knowing you. Well, alright. I can agree to that. But hang around Susan and I for a little while at least. I'm sure she'll have questions we'll _both _need to answer."

"Well, of course I will," Hermione said, "I want to get to know her too, after all. I've only known her some through Dumbledore's Army, and also when we sometimes partner up in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, when she isn't partnered with Hannah."

"Speaking of those two classes," Harry said, "When will we study up to prepare for my exams?"

"I figured we could wait until August after we come back from your birthday holiday in France," Hermione said, "The Assassination Missions will be done, likely, and we'll need something to do aside from your Great Alliance social dinner, and the Quidditch World Cup at the end of August. I'll figure out a schedule so you're prepared for the exams come September."

"Then I can always do some studying for the two classes on the train, and that first night," Harry said.

"Right," Hermione said, "Well, I'm going to take a shower. You don't have to wait up for me. I'll be downstairs in a little while."

"Alright," Harry said.

Hermione's footsteps receded as she stepped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Harry finished dressing, then stood from the bed and banished the curtains. He checked his reflection in the nearby mirror, smiled and pleased with his appearance, then left the bedroom. A couple minutes later, he arrived in the event room, and found Remus, Sirius and Tonks sitting at the small dining table. A plate of cinnamon buns were in the center of the table.

"Wotcher, Harry!" Tonks said, "Where's your better half? Or would that be one-fifth?"

"Borrowed my bathroom to take a shower," Harry said.

"Ah," Tonks said, "Melina made a plate of cinnamon buns for breakfast. Simple meal, since you'll be having brunch in a couple of hours with the Bones."

Harry nodded and grabbed a bun. Across the table, Sirius was reading the new edition of the Daily Prophet, and Remus had a glove on his hand and appeared to be carving something into it with a knife.

"Er... is that safe, Remus?" Harry asked.

"This is a dragonhide glove, Harry," Remus said, "Useful for what I am doing since a knife won't cut all the way through and pierce my skin."

"And what exactly _are _you doing?" Harry asked.

"Well," Remus said, "I thought of a better idea for you and Hermione to summon your knives with. Instead of drawing a rune on your hand every single time you use a knife, I thought you could use gloves. The rune will permanently remain on the glove. A dragonhide glove is best for this type of work, because you can carve into it, and as I said, it won't go all the way through to the skin."

"And we won't cut ourselves if we accidentally catch the blade," Harry said, nodding, "Good idea."

"Gloves are better than Sirius' suggestion," Remus said, rolling his eyes toward his best friend, "He suggested you and Hermione tattoo the runes into your palms."

"Eh... no thanks," Harry said.

"It was just an idea!" Sirius said.

Harry snorted. "Anything good in the newspaper?"

"Well," Sirius said, "Once again, there is nothing about the Death Eaters that were set free from Azkaban. The Ministry is doing an excellent job at hushing it up. Nice to see that the Ministry has become more competent in the last twelve years."

"'Competent' doesn't sound like the right term," Remus said.

"Corrupt?" Sirius asked.

"To a point," Remus said, nodding. "We'll see how they react _after _we get through with the assassinations."

"Hopefully neither they, nor, the Daily Prophet get wind of the assassinations before we're finished," Harry said.

"Hmm," Tonks said, "Who do you reckon is in charge of keeping track of the Death Eaters who were freed from Azkaban? Anyone?"

"If anyone is 'in charge' of it, it would be Amelia," Remus said, "Since she is the head of the DMLE. Why?"

"I wonder if there is any documentation about where the freed Death Eaters live now," Tonks said, "I'd hate to go in and get residential information, only to find out that I don't have some of what we need."

"Even if Fudge didn't allow it, I imagine Amelia would keep a track of such information," Sirius said, "It is probably in her office. Likely top secret, since Fudge doesn't want it to get out."

"I suppose I'll have to search for it today," Tonks said. "I was going to go to her office anyway."

"I have one more thing you need to search for," Harry said, "I don't know if it will be available yet. I need you to get a copy of the updated Triwizard Tournament Rulebook, and make sure it is up to date for the Tournament starting in October."

"Is that how Voldemort gets you into the cemetery?" Remus asked, "The Tournament?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "Barty Crouch, Junior puts my name in the Goblet of Fire as the fourth champion."

"Why do you need the rulebook?" Sirius asked.

"I want to know about any loopholes, and rules that might not be discussed," Harry said, "Reading my family's Grimoire has already given me strategies for the tasks, and I want to know if they'll be legal. Also, on Christmas, there is a Yule Ball. I want to know if I _have _to show up at the Ball. Which I probably will, but I want to know if I can be away from Hogwarts for Christmas Break and just come back for that evening. First off, I need to be in attendance at the Winter Solstice Session. Second, well, I was thinking of having a Christmas social party here one of the days during that week. Perhaps a New Year's Eve party."

"I don't think they can make you stay, Harry," Remus said. "Promise to show up for the Ball, and they'll be pleased. Other than that, Christmas Break is meant to be a holiday from Hogwarts. For students to spend time with their family."

Harry nodded. Even if he didn't like to dance, he'd do it for Hermione and his Betrothed. By then his Betrothals would be widely known, and dancing with all four of his Betrothed wouldn't be seen as odd."

"I'll try to find out if the rule book is up to date," Tonks said, "If it isn't, we could always go back and obtain it later."

"Thanks," Harry said, "What reason should we tell Amelia that you're away from the Manor?"

"That I am visiting my parents," Tonks said. "I'll be going home for a visit after I finish up at the Ministry. I need to see them before our assassination missions begin. Just to give me a bit more confidence."

Harry had only realized then that Tonks had never taken a life either. She was in the same boat as him and Hermione. The mood at the table turned somber as it appeared everyone was now thinking of what they would soon be getting into. Hermione's arrival and the following discussion to catch her up with the current discussion didn't help much either.

* * *

Harry and Sirius were waiting at the gate on the edge of the property, when Amelia and Susan Bones arrived at precisely eleven-o-clock. Tonks had left ten minutes prior to go to the Ministry.

"Greetings, Madam Bones, Susan," Harry said; Sirius had instructed him to be mildly formal for the introduction, before returning to casual discussion. "Welcome to Potter Manor."

"Thank you, Lord Potter," Amelia said, and Susan greeted him in the same manner, "I trust that is the end of all formalities."

Harry shrugged and grinned. "You're the first guests since I arrived. I needed the practice."

Amelia laughed, then walked over to Sirius and greeted him, with a kiss on the cheek. "Already teaching your godson to play with the purebloods, Sirius?"

"In my own way," Sirius said, "I shudder to think how he might have turned out if he was raised by someone like my parents. But hopefully I can shape him into someone who can be respected at social gatherings and Wizengamot Council meetings."

Harry shuddered comically. Susan caught this and grinned. She walked beside Harry as they followed Sirius and Amelia down the shady lane toward Potter Manor

"You have it easy, Harry," Susan said, "Because I am the Heir Apparent to the House of Bones, Auntie started teaching me about being a 'proper pureblood' in our society at the age of six. All that proper vocabulary was etched into my brain very early on. Most highborn children – those whose family are members of the Wizengamot Council – are taught the same way during childhood. If you were raised in the wizarding world, you would have done the same as you are Heir to the Potter House."

"Perhaps you could teach Hermione and I the ways of the highborn this summer," Harry said, "So we can be proper for my planned dinner party with the Great Alliance. I'd probably like you better as a teacher than Sirius."

"I heard that!" Sirius said.

Harry, Susan and Amelia laughed.

"If Auntie gives me permission, I might have to take you up on that offer," Susan said, smiling. "I have nothing better to do. I'm usually stuck around Bones Manor with the house-elves."

"I think we can arrange that, Susan," Amelia said. "Have you reconnected the Floo here yet?"

"Haven't really had the need to yet," Sirius said, "We mainly travel by Apparation, including Side-Along. But as long as we can make it secure, I think we could hook it up for use by visitors like Susan."

"I'll arrange it at the Ministry," Amelia said, "That way, those who work at the Floo Regulation Department don't have to visit. I assume you're using the Permission Wards?"

"Yes," Harry said, "My Betrothed and their families all have full-time permission. I'll add more temporarily for the dinner party when it comes time in August."

"I imagine reconnecting the Floo should be easy since it was hooked up when your parents and grandparents lived here," Amelia said; she looked around as they walked toward the Manor, "Hasn't changed much at all since I was here last."

"It was untouched for over a decade," Sirius said, "And yet it looked as someone had lived here every day during that time. The Wards and enchantments are simply that powerful."

"Didn't the Potter Family house-elves live here?" Amelia asked.

"No," Sirius said, "It turns out James told them to work at Hogwarts until he, Lily, or Harry summoned them again. Dumbledore became their temporary Master from then on until recently. Turns out they could not contact Harry unless he summoned them. And he knew nothing about them."

"I'm sure Dumbledore had something to do with that?" Amelia asked.

"Indeed," Sirius said, "Harry knew nothing about this Manor until he read James and Lily's Will. And he only found out about the elves because of me."

"Dumbledore didn't want you to know about your family home, it seems, Harry," Amelia said.

"Probably because Dumbledore has been trying to get into Potter Manor," Harry said, "He wants my family's Grimoire. He even placed a Fidelius Charm, an Unplottable Charm, and a Forest enchantment to hide it. Only a Portkey to here found the location, and my family ring undid any alien enchantments."

"Yet another way he has interfered in your life," Amelia huffed.

"Yes, well, shall we take our minds from manipulative old bastards for the time being," Sirius said. "The house-elves have brunch ready, and we have other things to discuss first."

Harry knew 'other things' meant his time-travel secret. As they made their way toward Potter Manor, Susan commented at the beauty of the Grounds.

"I'll take you on a tour of the Grounds after our meal," Harry said, "There are some good places for a nice stroll while having some good conversation."

"I'd like that," Susan said, smiling.

Harry tried his best not to blush. Susan had quite the beautiful smile. He could easily admit – though perhaps not out loud just yet – that she was very cute. He hoped she wouldn't hate him when she learned of his secrets shortly.

Hermione greeted Amelia and Susan at the door when they arrived. Susan seemed mildly surprised Hermione was there. Harry wondered if she had been looking forward to one-on-one time with him without his girlfriend present. Hermione's idea of him spending time with Susan seemed to make a lot more sense now. He wasn't sure if Susan was jealous of Hermione. He hoped any jealousy would vanish when she learned Hermione was one of his Betrothed, like her. He could understand how Susan, or his other Betrothed might have felt at the idea of their husband marrying someone he wasn't contractually obligated to.

Harry led them into the event room, where Remus was seated at the circular table which had been modified slightly to fit seven. He stood and greeted Amelia and Susan when he saw them. The house-elves have already set the table with the meal. They had made a common English breakfast, though also added a few recipes usually seen on a lunch menu as well. Everyone sat down at the table – Harry sitting in between Susan and Hermione.

"Dig in everyone," Harry said, when he remembered that the Master of the House began the meal during formal festivities.

"Where is Cadet Tonks?" Amelia asked, noting the Metamorphmagus' absence, as everyone began filling their plates.

"Gave her the day off on her bodyguard duties so she could spend time with her parents," Harry said. "She doesn't do much around here in the way of bodyguard duties anyway."

"Has she mentioned anything about her bodyguard duties come September?" Amelia asked, "I really liked her idea of disguising herself as a transfer fourth year student."

"I believe she's going to start training herself for that come August," Harry said.

"I'll wait to mention it to her until then," Amelia said, "It should give me enough time to work it out so she's a student again in September. It will be difficult because of Dumbledore, but I should be able to pass it off as DMLE and Auror Department business. He can't find a loophole around that very easily."

"Any news from the Ministry front about the riot at the Daily Prophet?" Sirius asked, "And the free Death Eaters? I tried to find any word of it in the Daily Prophet, and there isn't much."

"You won't find anything about it in the Daily Prophet," Amelia said, "At least when it comes to the freed Death Eaters. Fudge is trying to pass off the riot with a strange strategy. Sort of like he's saying 'well, it is not much of a big deal, but we're going to be extra vigilant about these things from now on'. He's focused on it a bit, to the point where he's trying to make it what the public is looking at, instead of the freed Death Eaters."

"Is it working?" Sirius asked.

"Funny enough, it is," Amelia said, "But only because very few people know about it. Aside from Fudge, only myself, Scrimgeour and those we closely work with know about it. It hasn't even gotten around to most of the Aurors, Hit Wizards, and so on and so forth."

"Surely you're keeping track of the freed Death Eaters?" Harry asked, thinking of the earlier discussion with Tonks.

"Indeed we are," Amelia said, "They have tracking charms on them, so we know where they are at all times. Most of them are roomed up with friends of theirs, those who don't have houses of their own."

"Friends of theirs?" Remus asked, "Suspected Death Eaters?"

"Quite likely, though little evidence to prove it," Amelia said.

Harry glanced at Remus and Sirius. Their expressions were unreadable, but he wondered if they were thinking the same thing he was. Several of their targets might be roomed up together, which could save time, but be more risky and dangerous. But those tracking charms would be very problematic.

"And they're all still in Great Britain?" Sirius asked.

"Indeed," Amelia said, "Actually they've been warned not to travel outside of Great Britain. Ministry tracking charms are useless at far distances. If we lose one, they'll be regarded as fugitives."

"That would be a big problem for the Ministry," Sirius said, "Since I'm the only one who is thought to have escaped."

"Indeed," Amelia said, "So you can understand all the secrecy surrounding this."

"Well, I'm sure I can speak for everyone when we say we'll be quiet about it," Remus said.

Harry, Hermione and Sirius nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Amelia said, "Forgive the change of subject, but I'm kind of curious. I wondered, Harry, how your other Betrothal meetings went. I know you went to the Lovegood's house, but you didn't say much when we last met, aside from the other event that happened there. And you were planning on going to Greengrass Manor."

"It has been... rather eventful to say the least," Harry said, "Both meetings went very well. I'm officially Betrothed to Luna and Daphne. I signed the contracts making it official."

"Hmm," Amelia said, looking at Susan, "I knew I had forgotten something when we first met. I'll have to bring Susan's Contract by sometime."

"Luna has chosen the Line Continuation Option like Susan," Harry said, "And Daphne will be taking the Peverell name."

"Why not Potter?" Susan asked.

Harry glanced at Susan, then Amelia. "I take it she doesn't know what happened?"

"I didn't want to say anything if it wasn't official," Amelia said.

"What's going on?" Susan asked, "What have you been keeping from me, Auntie?"

"I have a fourth Betrothal Contract," Harry said.

Susan's eyes widened. "Who is it with?"

"Hermione," Harry said, nodding to his girlfriend.

Susan looked from Harry to Hermione, who nodded. Harry then explained to Susan what he had discovered concerning his parents and Hermione's parents. Susan was quite shocked by the end of the story.

"I've never heard of Muggleborn taking part in a Betrothal Contract," Susan said, "No offense, Hermione. I just thought the Muggle world was... against it."

"It hasn't been common outside of Muggle highborn in centuries," Hermione said. "My parents only agreed to it for the protection it would give us. They wouldn't even make it official until they were sure I wanted it."

"And you've already decided Harry's the one?" Susan asked, "At fourteen?"

Harry cleared his throat and looked at Hermione, who looked back at him. She nodded silently, and he knew it was time to reveal their secret. Across the table, Remus and Sirius simply relaxed and let things go on as planned.

"Yeah, about that," Hermione said, "There's something we need to tell the two of you about us. It is a big secret. Bigger than Fudge's secret. This one could ruin a lot of things in the future of the wizarding world."

Amelia and Susan merely looked curious and confused. So Harry decided to 'rip off the plaster' as the saying went.

"Hermione and I are time-travelers," Harry said, "We're from the future. We traveled through time on the second of May in the year nineteen ninety-eight. We returned on the evening of June 6th, and wound up in our younger bodies, with our memories and magical skills and knowledge intact."

Susan's jaw dropped as she stared at Harry. Amelia's eyes wandered back and forth between Harry and Hermione, then she turned to Sirius.

"Is he serious?" she asked.

"We both are," Sirius said, "In two completely different ways. But yes, Harry and Hermione are time travelers."

"So... nineteen ninety-eight," Amelia said, "You were – what? – seventeen?"

"I was eighteen," Hermione said.

"And yet you say you've wound up in your younger bodies," Amelia said, "Time Turners don't do that."

"We didn't use a time turner," Harry said, "On the day we traveled back through time, there was a huge battle at Hogwarts. Hermione and I ended up in a room which got attacked, and wound up in a Vanishing Cabinet. Our attackers found us, and started casting a barrage of spells. Instead of destroying the cabinet, killing us, we traveled through time and wound up in our younger bodies. I'm trying to think of some proof to give you. Susan, I knew you as a fellow student at Hogwarts, of course. But I only met you once Amelia. Wound up in front of the entire Wizengamot because of a simple Improper Use of Magic charge. You – your other self – was very fair to me even though Fudge wanted to find me guilty."

"What about the Betrothal Contract?" Susan asked.

"I knew nothing about any of the contracts," Harry said, "I had not met with my Vault Keeper at Gringotts by then, so I didn't open my parents' Will, or find I had Betrothal Contracts to my name. Perhaps it might have been different after the war."

"The war?" Amelia asked.

Harry sighed. "In our timeline, Voldemort returns to a full body less than a year from now. His return was unexpected. I was the witness to his return. Thanks to Fudge being stupid, he didn't believe me when I told him Voldemort returned. Very few people did. Voldemort went to the Ministry in June of 1996, and Fudge saw him. The Second War officially began then, and it hopefully would have ended with the Battle of Hogwarts nearly two years later. This time, I know how to defeat Voldemort, and will be doing so the night he returns."

"Why you?" Susan asked, her voice shaky.

"A prophecy," Harry said, "A prophecy predicted that either I or Voldemort would kill one another. Because Voldemort believes it, he has tried to kill me. And will keep trying. I have to be the one to kill him."

"I can think of one way to give you proof, Amelia," Hermione said. "Harry and I have been practicing Occlumency, and we need a Legilimens to help us figure out where we stand. Sirius informed us you are a Legilimens. We could show you some memories."

"I guess I can agree with that," Amelia said. "I can check your Occlumency after our meal."

Harry noticed that Susan was on the verge of being upset.

"You are welcome to ask me anything, Susan," Harry said, "In fact, I'll answer any questions after our meal. Gives us something to talk about while we walk around the grounds."

He was quite relieved when Susan nodded, a small smile on her lips.

"Anything you want to know, Amelia?" Hermione asked, "We're working toward changing the future, so much of what we experienced won't happen."

Amelia frowned and looked at Sirius. "Did Sirius and I ever reunite in the old timeline?"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head, "Because I never saw my parents' Will, I didn't know about the Godfather Ritual. Sirius never told me and I don't know why. He could have used it as a defense. He remained a fugitive, always in hiding."

"Do you know anything about Dumbledore I could use to nab him?" Amelia asked.

"Nothing that would be seen as criminal, really," Harry said, "But we could truly ruin his reputation. We made a deal with Rita Skeeter. Much of what we know we're going to give to her."

"That series she is writing," Amelia said, "You're tipping her off."

"Indeed," Harry said, "By Christmas, Dumbledore's reputation should be well and truly injured. You're doing a fairly good job right now when it comes to his criminal charges. For example, Severus Snape. He was never imprisoned. He remained at Hogwarts as either Potions Master, Defense Professor, or Headmaster before we came back in time."

"Headmaster?" Amelia asked.

"Dumbledore died at the end of our sixth year," Harry said, "I thought he was murdered, but I've come to realize it might have been planned. He had been cursed by an object a year prior to that, and I have a feeling it was weakening him. You see, Snape murdered him."

"But you think it might have been assisted suicide?" Amelia asked.

"It is a running theory," Harry said, nodding. "The object that cursed him has been destroyed, so it won't happen again."

"How does Voldemort return to his body?" Amelia asked.

"A dark Resurrection ritual," Harry said, "Not something I wish to mention during a meal. Also I hope you understand I cannot discuss my strategy to defeat him. Can't let it get out."

"I understand," Amelia said, "But if you need assistance, I will help you."

"Thanks," Harry said, "I may need that help. Aside from the two of you, only Remus, Sirius and Tonks know our secret. Hermione and I might tell Daphne and Luna, since they're my Betrothed. But we want to keep it a secret."

"I can understand that," Amelia said.

Amelia had no more questions after that, and settled to wait for proof until the Legilimency test. Susan was apparently waiting for her private conversation with Harry and Hermione. She was rather silent about the entire thing, obviously deep in thought.

After brunch finished, it was time for the Occlumency test. Harry and Hermione focused on their Occlumency shields. Amelia waited for permission, then started her work. She looked rather impressed by the end of her tests.

"Well," Amelia said, "You both have strong shields. Silent Legilimency attacks won't penetrate it before you're able to expel it from your mind. Verbal Legilimency attacks are much stronger, but are easier to defend. Well done. May I now see the proof you were willing to give."

Harry accepted this, and he opened his mind. He focused on two memories – the first was when he met Amelia during his Hearing. The second was when he and Hermione traveled back in time. Amelia's eyes were wide by the time she backed out.

"It's the truth, Susan," Amelia said, to her curious niece, "They are indeed time-travelers. I'm sure you're wanting to know a bit more. So how about Harry and Hermione escort you around the grounds. The grown-ups must talk for a while."

"Yes, Auntie," Susan said.

Harry led Hermione and Susan out of the Event room and started making their way outside. Harry couldn't read Susan's expression. He hoped she would still like him by the time she left Potter Manor that day.

* * *

**Rather odd ending, but I decided to split it there. If I continued this chapter here, I wouldn't get this out for a few more days. Apologies if it seemed the end of the chapter went rather quickly near the end.**

As you can see, I am doing my best to get the other girls aside from Hermione involved with Harry. Daphne and Luna probably won't get much page-time before mid-August in story. And I plan on upping Tonks' relationship with Harry in August, in story. But Susan will get some page-time coming up.

**Next chapter: Harry and Hermione talk with Susan. Hermione lets Harry and Susan have some privacy. Possibly Tonks' visit to the Ministry. And (hopefully!) the beginning of the assassination missions!**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	38. Courting Susan Bones

**Chapter 38  
Courting Susan Bones**

**Saturday, July 5th, 1994**

"Harry? Hermione?" Susan asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

Harry was walking between Hermione and Susan as they made their way toward the front left portion of the Grounds. Situated there was a walking path surrounded on either side by hedges and flowers. This path led toward a hedge maze. Neither Harry nor Hermione had explored the maze yet.

"Don't be afraid to ask us anything, Susan," Harry said, "We'll answer everything to the best of our ability."

Hermione nodded in silent agreement.

"Were the two of you a couple where – you know – where you come from?" Susan asked.

"First of all," Harry said, "We like to call it 'our future' or 'the other timeline'," Harry said, "I understand it can be confusing. We're not from an alternate dimension or an alternate reality, Susan. I'm the same Harry Potter that was born to my parents. I'm the same Harry you have known since first year. Hermione is the same girl you've known. We just have more magical knowledge than usual, and knowledge of a future that we're trying to change for the better."

"For the better of whom?" Susan asked.

"Everyone," Harry said. "Well, almost everyone. Those who don't seek to harm us."

"Like Voldemort," Susan said, in almost a whisper.

"Yes, like him," Harry said. "People died in the future we come from. Good people. Innocent people. People who should have had good long lives. People who might have changed the world for the better if their lives weren't cut short. To answer your question. I guess the answer would be 'no'. I suppose the right term would be 'budding romance'. You could say we had started our relationship just minutes before we accidentally traveled through time. I didn't even have time to ask her to be my girlfriend until we came back in time. Our first true 'date' was _after _she became my girlfriend."

He looked at Hermione and smiled. "To be honest, we should have been a couple for a while now."

"It wasn't your fault or mine, Harry," Hermione said, smiling, then looked at Susan, "You see, forces played against us. We learned that our love-lives weren't in our control. You know about Molly Weasley's arrest, yes?"

"Auntie told me, even before I saw it in the Daily Prophet," Susan said, "Though she didn't tell me who Mrs. Weasley's targets were. You're saying it was the two of you?"

"Yes," Hermione said, "And in our future, she succeeded with her plan. Somewhat. We were dosed, apparently frequently, made to believe we were in love with Ron and Ginny Weasley respectively. I imagine if that did not happen, Harry and I would have been a couple. For how long? I don't know."

"And... you knew nothing about your Betrothal Contracts, Harry?" Susan asked. "You were seventeen, right? You should have been given notice from Gringotts on your birthday."

"I should have," Harry said, "But I did not. I don't know why."

"We were at the Burrow, Harry," Hermione said, "Maybe Molly Weasley intercepted your post?"

"Wouldn't be the first time my post was intercepted," Harry said.

"My Aunt would have personally contacted you," Susan said, "Unless..."

Harry and Hermione grimaced, and Susan's eyes widened, as she realized what had happened.

"How?" Susan asked, her voice shivering.

"Voldemort," Harry said, "Either by his own hand, or on his orders. Sometime during our sixth year. I didn't know you – your other self - very well, so I don't know how she would have coped after it."

"I do," Hermione said, "You – she – had been Emancipated since she hadn't turned seventeen yet, and made the Head of the Bones family. She still attended Hogwarts. I imagine it was a difficult time, but she had her friends to help her."

"I promise you, Susan," Harry said, "It won't happen this time. Voldemort will die before next summer."

"And his followers?" Susan asked.

Harry wasn't sure how to answer that. He couldn't tell her about their plans for assassinations yet.

"Their threat will be diminished by then," Hermione said.

Susan nodded, accepting this as an answer. "So in your future, Auntie died without a child of her own, and the other me was the last Bones. Well, I think that will change too. Auntie has talked about your godfather a lot lately. You know about their Betrothal?"

"Yes," Harry said, nodding.

"Auntie wants to finalize it," Susan said, grinning, "But I think she wants to make sure your godfather is still the same man she fell in love with. But I could see them being married before next summer comes around."

"Then their future is already better," Harry said, "Both of theirs."

"Your godfather," Susan said, "Did he...?"

"He was killed at the end of our fifth year," Harry said, sighing. "Still seen as a criminal to most of wizarding society, still on the run."

"Still wanting to fight for the boy he thought of as a son," Hermione added, "He died for you."

"Yeah, well, he'll have a better future this time," Harry said.

"Does he know?" Susan asked, "What his – his other self – their fate was?"

"No," Harry said, "And I don't know if I can tell him."

"I don't blame you," Susan said, "Not sure I want my Auntie to know. So you didn't know me - the other me – very well?"

"I knew you because we often partnered up in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," Hermione said, "But I didn't know enough to tell you anything about your future self. Other than the fact that you have nothing to worry about in the 'looks' department. You're gorgeous, now _and _in the future."

Susan blushed and grinned. Harry wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of this conversation. That seemed like something girls would talk about.

He cleared his throat. "When Voldemort returned originally, very few people believed me when I said he returned. Fudge tried to hush me and Dumbledore up. Dumbledore believed me, you see. Looking back, I guess he believed Voldemort was back, because it helped with his plans. And Fudge tried to take control of Hogwarts. Hired Dolores Umbridge at the Defense post."

"Umbridge?" Susan asked, bewildered, "Never thought of her as a teacher."

"Because she isn't," Harry said, with a snort, "She was horrid. A monster. Then Fudge gave her control over the school. Control to sack Professors she didn't approve of. She didn't believe in a practical approach. Bookwork and writing what we learned in a book was her way. Read the book, and we could pass our OWLs. That was her belief."

"Ugh!" Susan groaned, "How horrible!"

"Yep," Harry said, "So Hermione and I, we started a secret Defense club right under her nose. Something she'd never approve of. Your other self was one of several members. I got to know her a bit, but sadly not as well as I should have. So don't be afraid to talk to me. I'd like to get to know you, Susan. We'll be married in a few years, after all."

Susan smiled.

"I think I'm going to let the two of you get to know each other," Hermione said, "I have other things I can be doing."

"Can I talk to you for a moment before you go, Hermione?" Susan asked, "in private?"

Hermione nodded. Harry walked over to a stone bench, sat down, and gave the girls their privacy. He wondered what they were talking about. Probably about him.

* * *

Hermione waved her wand around herself and Susan.

"Muffliato Charm," she explained to a curious Susan, "A version of the Silencing Charm. Harry won't hear anything we say, so don't be afraid to say anything."

"Okay," Susan said, "So... when you traveled through time, you were eighteen, he was seventeen. Correct?"

"Yes," Hermione said.

"Do you consider yourself eighteen?" Susan asked, "Does he consider himself to be seventeen?"

Hermione bit her lip. "That is an excellent question. Well, I can't speak for Harry, but I guess my answer would be 'no'. I look at myself in a mirror every day and recognize my fourteen year, nearly fifteen year old self. Body-wise I was fairly different than I am now. More beautiful, I suppose."

"I'm sure Harry thinks you're beautiful right now, Hermione," Susan said, blushing slightly.

Hermione merely shrugged. "I consider myself fourteen at the moment. Albeit a far more mature fourteen year old, who has a great deal more magical knowledge and a bit more life experience. I'm not sure what Harry thinks though."

"I am only asking because – well – I'm fourteen," Susan said, "As is Daphne. Luna's thirteen."

"You're worried about age difference?" Hermione asked.

Susan nodded shyly. "I mean, yes, Harry's technically thirteen, almost fourteen, and he looks it. I'm just worried he'll think it creepy to be in a relationship with me because we're younger I suppose than he truly is. And in a way, I'm worried for Daphne and Luna too."

"It is complicated," Hermione said, "My advice is to ask him what he thinks. Then if you're happy with his answer, simply let the relationship progress normally. Forget the Betrothal Contract at the moment. Okay, so you'll be married to him in a few years. How would you see that relationship progress if you weren't Betrothed but your goal was marriage?"

"Well," Susan said, "Dating, I suppose. And maybe be his girlfriend. But -"

"But what?" Hermione asked.

"You're his girlfriend, right?" Susan asked.

"He sees me as his girlfriend," Hermione said, "And he, my boyfriend. But we're also officially Betrothed. Oh, I see... you believe Harry is already claimed. That is true. He is claimed, Susan."

"Oh," Susan said, frowning, as she looked at her feet.

"By four girls," Hermione added.

Susan looked back up at Hermione, a confused expression on her face.

"Harry's Betrothed to four girls, Susan," Hermione said, smiling, "He'll be married to four girls."

_At least, four, _Hermione said to herself, _Possibly more, but I won't mention that yet._

"Are you saying you want Harry's relationship to progress with all of us naturally as if we'll be married to him?" Susan asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

"Yes," Hermione said, "Well, mostly. Daphne's a bit more complicated."

"She's involved with Tracey Davis," Susan said; she grinned when Hermione looked shocked that she knew. "Come on, Hermione. Neither of us are dumb. Daphne was basically hanging all over her on the Hogwarts Express. I'm surprised she didn't kiss her in front of us. They're girlfriends, in a relationship, yes?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, "To a point where they've already discussed the possibility of Tracey being her mistress when she marries Harry. And possibly Harry being the father to Tracey's children if she wants any."

"If it makes them happy, I'm all for it," Susan said, "Mistresses are not a rarity in our society. Witches outnumber wizards. A wizard isn't going to be lonely just cause Harry will marry four of us, maybe more if things happen with Tracey. So... basically you would be okay if I became Harry's girlfriend too?"

"Yes," Hermione said, simply.

"_Why_?" Susan asked, "It has to be for more reasons than simply because he'll be married to four girls. You're his girlfriend. You were his girlfriend before you discovered you were Betrothed to him. You have him to yourself. _Why _are you okay with him being latched onto other girls?"

Hermione sighed and looked at Harry. "Because he deserves all the love he can get. He deserves whatever family he can get. I'll let Harry explain it if he chooses to, but he didn't exactly grow up in a loving family. You are lucky your Aunt loves you, Susan."

"So... his Muggle relatives... don't love him?" Susan asked, frowning.

"That's putting it _very _kindly," Hermione said.

Susan nodded. Obviously she could read between the lines. "I see. You don't think one girl is enough for him?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, "Would one girl have been enough? If Harry simply married me, I would be happy to think I'd be enough for him. For several years, he never knew love. I think, deep down, he's come to accept it if more than one girl loves him. Yes, he's Betrothed to four girls. But what about Tracey's situation? He could stop at four girls and refuse Tracey, if she says she wants him to father her children."

"But he won't," Susan said. "Because that isn't Harry."

"No, it isn't," Hermione said. "Don't worry about me, Susan. Fall in love with him. Snog him to your heart's content. I know he'll come back to me. He's capable of loving more than one person and I am willing to accept it. Because I love him."

"Are you giving me permission to snog him today if it comes to it?" Susan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"If it comes to it," Hermione echoed.

"You'll make an excellent First Wife, Hermione," Susan said, "You're already practicing."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Me? But I'm – well -"

"Muggleborn?" Susan asked, "Socially considered lower than Harry's other future wives? Pardon my French, but _fuck that_."

Hermione giggled at Susan's unexpected swear. Normally, she'd scowl or scold, but it was just shocking coming from Susan.

"You were Harry's girlfriend first before his Betrothed," Susan said, "I can see he loves you. He doesn't _have _to love me, Daphne or Luna. We're just contractually obligated to marry him because our parents wanted it, and it benefits our Houses. He could put a baby in our bellies, and if we bear a son, a proper Heir, then he could send us to a different bedroom for the rest of our lives and watch us raise his Heirs while being part of a loveless marriage where the only sex we have with him is something he wants for his jollies."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "He'd never –!"

Susan's stare silenced her. "Of course he wouldn't. Because he is a good person. But it has happened before in our society. _You, _Hermione. He loves you. He could treat me, Daphne and Luna like that, but he wouldn't choose to treat you like that. You're his first love in his mind, so you're his First Wife. Daphne and Luna will likely agree with me."

Hermione smiled. "Thanks."

"You're a smart witch, Hermione," Susan said, "But your knowledge is lax when it comes to our society. It isn't an insult. Just the truth. Obvious to tell because you were shocked by a hypothetical statement regarding unfortunately common marriages in our society."

Hermione frowned. She knew Susan was right. She just never thought to read up on stuff like that. She never considered it something she'd need to know. Now she regret that.

"It is alright, Hermione," Susan said, obviously noting Hermione's dismay, "On our way into his Manor, Harry asked me if I would teach him, and you, the ways of the proper pureblood in our society. So that the two of you will look and act more respectable at social gatherings and inside the Wizengamot Council. You may not have a seat on the Council, but you will be the future wife of someone who has a seat there, and the future mother of your firstborn Heir who will take Harry's seat when it is time. You must learn to act like it, at least in the public face."

Hermione nodded. She was always eager to learn. While she didn't like that she had to mold herself into something she wasn't, just to be respected in society, she knew it was necessary.

"I'll visit a few times between now and Harry's planned social dinner," Susan said, "And I'll teach both of you how I was taught."

"I look forward to you teaching us," Hermione said. "Now, if that is all, please go and hang out with our future husband. I'm sure he's eagerly waiting. And... don't be afraid to kiss him – or accept a kiss – if you feel the moment is right. I will not mind."

"Thanks, Hermione," Susan said, "You're a good friend, and future sister-wife."

Hermione smiled. Susan turned and walked back over to Harry. Hermione exhaled a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She glanced at Harry, who caught her eye and smiled when he looked her in the eyes. She smiled amorously back, silently giving him her blessing to have fun with Susan, then turned and made her way back to the Manor. She would be in the library waiting for him to return. And he would. She always knew he'd come back for her. That is one reason she loved him and why she allowed other girls – whom she approved of – to love him as well. Because she knew that he could marry several girls, but she was first in his heart.

* * *

Harry briefly watched Hermione walk away, before he looked back at Susan. He stood at attention when she returned to him.

"My Lady," he said, bowing comically.

"My Lord," Susan said, grinning, as she curtsied.

"It appears we are alone," Harry said, "Where shall we go?"

"The hedge maze looks inviting," Susan said, as she gazed at the ten-foot-tall hedge walls.

"It does," Harry agreed.

"You haven't explored it yet?" Susan asked.

"No," Harry said, "No better time than the present. I'll warn you though. We may get lost."

"Oh, how horrible," Susan said, grinning, "Promise to keep me company?"

Harry offered his hand and she took it, blushing lightly. "I will not let go until we are out of the maze. And maybe not even then."

Susan grinned and squeezed his hand gently. Harry led her down the sidewalk, and toward the entrance of the maze. As they entered the maze, Harry decided it was already far more inviting than the maze for the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. No vicious magical creatures ready to kill him. Always a good thing.

"I suppose we have a lot to talk about," Harry said, as they started off through the maze.

"Yes," Susan said, "For starters, I am _very _pleased that you and Hermione are knowledgeable in Occlumency. Otherwise that would have been something I would have taught you."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Because it is proper in our society, especially since you are the Head of House," Susan said, "Any Legilimens could snatch the secrets of your House away from you if you did not know Occlumency. House secrets are a goldmine in and of itself. As you stated earlier, Dumbledore wants your Grimoire. He wants the knowledge of your House. The Potter House is ancient, and that isn't simply just a title. The Potter bloodline goes back to one of the original families."

"The Peverells," Harry said.

"Yes, and through them, the Potters," Susan said, "A few other families as well, but the Potters were the first highborn they married into, and the Potters are whom they trusted with their family's magic. So only those born a Potter, or marrying a Potter can inherit the name of Peverell. Your family's magic is old magic. Powerful. Take the wards around your Manor for instance. They've survived many, many years, even though the Manor was barren of even house-elves who power the Wards. Very few dwellings could do that. Hogwarts, probably. Maybe the Ministry of Magic."

"The Ministry houses elves?" Harry asked.

"Several," Susan said, Though they don't have the same Master. Anyway, back to your Grimoire. It likely holds magic that very few people know about because it is considered secret."

"They're aware my family has old, rare magic, but nobody knows exactly what it is," Susan said.

"Outside your family," Susan said, "You shouldn't even allow others aside from yourself to look at the Grimoire, unless you completely trust them. Technically, you shouldn't let Hermione, or myself,or your other Betrothed see it until we're married to you, and have taken the magical vows that assure we wouldn't give up your family's secrets."

Harry nodded. He trusted Hermione with the information.

"So people like Dumbledore and, yes, several Dark families," Susan continued, "would want to steal it from you. You're very lucky that Duels of Satisfaction have mostly been barred from our society. Oh, they still exist, but one must gain permission from not only the Minister of Magic, but also the majority of the Wizengamot before they can challenge anyone for a Duel of Satisfaction. If this wasn't so, you might have been challenged in a duel for much of what you own, on the day you turned seventeen. Emancipation wouldn't interfere with that."

"So Occlumency is commonly known by witches and wizards our age?" Harry said.

"If they're part of important Houses in our society," Susan said, "It is common to teach the children before they go to Hogwarts."

"Do you think Daphne and Luna know Occlumency?" Harry asked.

"Daphne, quite likely," Susan said, "Luna, possibly. Though if anyone is a Natural, she is."

"A Natural?" Harry asked, confused with the term.

"Some witches and wizards are born with the talent of a naturally Occluded mind," Susan said. "Their minds are impenetrable to Legilimens."

"Luna seems like the type," Harry said, nodding. "Anyway, I am glad to know they might already know Occlumency. Makes it much easier. I didn't want to tell them about my secret unless they could guard it."

"What about me?" Susan asked.

"Let's just put it this way," Harry said, "I'm relieved you know Occlumency. Hermione and I had no choice but to tell you when we decided to tell Amelia. We couldn't just keep you from it. You'd be suspicious."

Susan grinned. "Definitely."

"Are you happy you know?" Harry asked.

Susan sighed. "Tough question. And it brings us to the discussion I had with Hermione. My main issue when you told me and Auntie was that – well – you said you were seventeen. Do you feel seventeen, or thirteen, almost fourteen?"

Harry remained silent for a few moments, pondering this, as they continued to walk through the hedge maze. After they reached their first dead end, then turned to go down another path, he finally answered.

"I suppose I feel both at times," he said, "Yes, I have a bit more knowledge about the future and magic than I would have as a normal near-fourteen year old. I look at myself and I am the age of thirteen, almost fourteen. But I consider myself more mature than I was really at this age. Mature enough to feel older, I suppose. But if I look at myself in a mirror, and say 'okay, you're seventeen', even though I look three, four years younger, I'm going to go mental. Does that make sense?"

"I suppose," Susan said. "Hermione told me roughly the same thing. She told me to ask you how you felt. And I'll admit the same thing I admitted to her. I'm more concerned about... age difference than anything. I'm worried you might look at me, or Daphne, or Luna, and feel like a total creep when thinking of us as a love interest. That you're more suited for someone like Hermione, or... Tonks, even. Some a bit older than me."

"What if I told you you're right about all of it?" Harry asked, "Aside from the 'total creep' part, of course."

Susan studied him for a moment. "You fancy Tonks, don't you?"

Harry shrugged and blushed.

Susan sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Hermione is usually right."

"She told you I fancy Tonks?" Harry asked.

"No," Susan said, shaking her head. "She said you're capable of falling in love with more than one girl. More than _four _it seems."

"Oh," Harry said, "I don't know. I mean, I'm Betrothed to four girls. And then Daphne said something about Tracey Davis..."

"Hermione explained that to me," Susan said.

"So even if I don't marry Tracey, I could still end up fathering her children," Harry said, "And – well – I don't know what I feel about Tonks. In the other timeline, she married someone else and had a son, my godson. But, as Hermione told me, her situation has already changed. Changing the future has likely changed her future as well. Hermione said Tonks _might _fancy me too."

"And if you end up marrying her – poof – no more godson?" Susan guessed.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"My advice is just let whatever happen, happen," Susan said, "What if she did fall in love with this same person and marry them? It would be a rare chance they'd have the same baby you knew as your godson."

"I never actually met him," Harry said, "But the thought of him being my godson was enough."

"I'm sure you'd feel the same if you had children of your own from her," Susan said.

Harry shrugged. "Be honest. Would you be alright if Tonks was part of our family?"

"Well... if she didn't know your secret, I'd call it creepy since you say she apparently fancies you," Susan said, "But it sort of makes sense. You're very fanciable, Harry."

Harry snorted. "Heard that one before. Not sure I believe it."

"Well, you should," Susan said, "I certainly fancy you."

Harry blushed. "Really? You're not just saying that because you're Betrothed to me."

"Do you think all Betrothed women fall in love with their husbands?" Susan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head.

"No, they do not," Susan said, "I am contractually obligated to marry you. If I didn't fancy you, if I don't fall in love with you, I'd bed you until I became pregnant and gave birth to the proper heir – usually a son – needed for the future of my House, then I wouldn't be in your bedroom again, unless on rare and special occasion. I'd sleep in another bedroom, and raise our child myself. But I like to think our marriage will be far better than that. I do fancy you, Harry. Not because we're Betrothed. Not because you're the Boy-Who-Lived, like most girls fancy you for."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

Susan blushed. "Well, not anymore at least. I was a fan-girl when I first saw you. Thankfully I got over that before too long. And it turned into a real fancy. And if you get me out of this maze, I may reward you with a kiss."

Harry grinned at the thought of kissing her. "We could go back the way we came..."

Susan playfully glared at him causing both of them to laugh.

"Some gentleman you are," Susan said, with a light snort, "I will not reward you with a kiss unless the journey is worth it."

"Noted," Harry said. "Hermione told you that you could kiss me, didn't she?"

"Yes," Susan said, "Even if you weren't Betrothed to her, I'd advise you hold on to her. Forever."

"Forever and a day," Harry said, smiling.

"Cheesy, but also romantic," Susan said, grinning. "I'll make it my personal goal to be loved by you as much as you love Hermione Granger. Or maybe half as much. I might be able to handle _that _much."

"Now who is the cheesy one?" Harry asked, with a chortle.

Susan shoved him playfully. "Prat. I'd make you chase me, but I'd likely get more lost."

"Be glad you don't have to take part in the maze in the third task," Harry said, with a snort.

"The Triwizard Tournament?" Susan asked, raising her eyebrows. "Are you saying you'll be a part of it?"

"Yes," Harry said, "As the unexpected fourth champion. Last time it wasn't my choice. This time, it must happen, because it ends with me defeating Voldemort. Promise me you won't hate me when I'm chosen."

"Why would I hate you?" Susan asked.

"Because most of Hogwarts will," Harry said, "They'll see it as me taking the glory from the true Hogwarts Champion. Worse, when it comes to you, because it is a Hufflepuff."

"And we Hufflepuff rarely ever get the glory," Susan said, "Ouch. Yeah, I could see how you might think I'd hate you. Did my other self hate you?"

"Hard to say," Harry said. "Especially if she fancied me like you do. Safe to say that Hufflepuffs weren't happy with me in general."

Susan sighed. "Is it weird that I feel I need to apologize for that other me? In case she did hold the opinion of her house."

"It is weird, but thanks," Harry said, "It makes me feel better that you won't hate me."

Susan smiled. "I promise to do my best to make Hufflepuff see that you mean us no harm. Hopefully it doesn't back fire. We Hufflepuff are very loyal after all. I am loyal to them, but I have decided my loyalty is with you more now as it benefits my future."

"Thanks," Harry said. "That sounded almost Slytherin of you, you know."

Susan playfully glared at him again.

"I take it back," Harry said, "One Slytherin Betrothed to me is enough."

Susan snorted. "Be thankful you have one of the good ones as a future wife."

"Definitely," Harry said, "I shudder to think if it was Pansy. Oh, I forgot! I wanted to invite you to stay at the Lord's Quarters with me, Hermione, Daphne and Luna. And maybe Tracey. I have permission for Hermione, Daphne and Luna. I need to ask Amelia for that permission for you though. If you accept, that is."

"I accept your invitation," Susan said, "Though Hannah may be upset. Ah well, I can hang out with her when I'm not with you. She understands my new position anyway. She's happy for me."

"I would hate to interfere with your friendship with her," Harry said, "I likely won't be able to get her into the Lord's Quarters. Tracey is a special case, because she might be at risk."

"Cause of her relationship with Daphne," Susan said, nodding, "I understand. It will be okay. Anyway, we can ask Auntie when we return to the Manor."

Their discussion was halted as both realized they were getting officially lost. So they concentrated on working together to find the exit. Nearly ten minutes after they entered, they finally found the exit.

"We made it!" Susan said, cheerfully. "That was fun. I think you should take all your dates in there. Working together to find the exit, while having a chat seems like an excellent date."

"If it was anything like with you, then I must agree," Harry said.

Susan smiled, blushing lightly. "I believe I owe you something, Lord Potter."

Then she leaned wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Even though he expected it, Harry froze momentarily against her lips before he began to return to kiss. After about thirty seconds of closed mouth kissing, Susan backed away.

"Mmm," Susan said, "I hope all my kisses with you are like my first."

"That was your first?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes," Susan said, "And I wouldn't have it any other way. I might have to steal another one before I leave. But now I wish for you to give me the rest of the tour."

Harry granted her wish, and they started to roam the rest of the grounds, chatting happily about innocent things. They spoke of their lives and things they liked to do. Harry didn't tell her anything about his life with the Dursleys yet, and she didn't ask. Perhaps if she suspected, she was waiting so that he would only have to tell her, Daphne and Luna once. If this was so, Harry was grateful.

When Susan first caught sight of the Quidditch Pitch, she was absolutely astounded. She did admit that she didn't fly much, but would allow him to take her up on a broom during a future visit. He accepted that, heartily, thinking it would be an excellent date.

By the time their tour ended nearly two hours later, in which they mostly slowly roamed around the Grounds, and often sat down and talked more, Susan had stolen two more kisses. Harry discovered he really liked kissing Susan Bones.

* * *

**Yes, I decided to end it there, which means I didn't get all of what I promised in this chapter AGAIN! I decided to dedicate it solely to the discussions with Susan.**

**Hopefully this chapter gave you some insight into how Hermione and Susan feel about the whole multiple witches thing.**

**Next chapter: Possibly Tonks in the Ministry (if it doesn't cause writer's block that interferes with writing the rest of the chapter) and DEFINITELY some assassination missions. I promise!**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	39. Step 1: We Plan

**Chapter 39  
Step 1: We Plan**

**Saturday, July 5th, 1994**

While Harry and Susan were exploring the Grounds of Potter Manor, Nymphadora Tonks was roaming through the Ministry of Magic. She had just left the Hall of Magical Records, and was now traveling in a lift toward her next destination.

In the Hall of Magical Records, she had disguised herself as Rufus Scrimgeour. She was no stranger to disguising herself as a man. During her training in the Auror Corps, nobody had discovered her whenever she disguised herself as a man. Even those who had known she was a Metamorphmagus never realized it was her.

Even though the large warehouse-like room that housed the records was open to the public, there was still a requirement for the visitor to sign the visitor's book, for official reasons. The usual Secretary of Records had the day off, so it was an apprentice witch who was training for the job. Tonks had fooled her into thinking she was Rufus Scrimgeour. When disguised as a person, Tonks could usually forge their signature pretty convincingly. Even then, Tonks had to resort to Obliviating the unsuspecting witch after her visit was all said and done.

Her visit to the Hall of Records was quite successful. She had been able to find locations of most of the listed targets – those who hadn't been in Azkaban for the last decade or so. She hoped she'd be able to find those records in the other locations she would visit. Along with the locations, she was also able to find information on the targets' families. Very useful information, considering the children and spouses were not the targets. Everything she had found, she had made copies. She had feared there would be anti-copy charms on some of what she found, but luckily she didn't run into any.

Before she had left the hall of Records, she had Obliviated the apprentice of her visit, and also had removed Scrimgeour's name from the visitor list.

Unfortunately, Remus had been correct with his suspicions. She had been unable to find the blueprints in the Hall of Records. She knew it was unlikely that they were in the DMLE or Auror Department offices. Then she grinned. She knew how she could find it.

As the lift approached the designated floor, Tonks changed her appearance into that of Amelia Bones. Soon the lift stopped, and Tonks headed for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. When she arrived in the waiting room, Amelia's secretary, whom she remembered was named Samantha looked up at her, rather shocked.

"Madam Bones!" Samantha said, "I didn't expect you in today. I thought you and your niece were visiting friends for the day."

"Needed to come in for a few minutes," Tonks said, "I have some off-the-clock work to do, if you know what I mean. Unofficial business."

"So I shouldn't make a record of your appearance?" Samantha asked.

"Smart witch," Tonks said, "Perhaps you could do me a couple of favors, so I can get out of here quickly."

"Of course, Madam Bones," Samantha said.

Tonks walked over to the secretary's desk, and picked up a piece of parchment and quill. She wrote down several names of her targets. Unfortunately, she would have to Obliviate Samantha, so she knew she could be free to discuss this at the moment.

"I need blueprints of the residences of these people," Tonks said, "I am planning on surprise raids. But this must be kept a secret between you and I, or else it could compromise everything. If you have to talk to anyone, just refer to it as top secret DMLE business."

"Yes, ma'am," Samantha said, "And the other favor?"

"Could you try and find an updated rule book for the upcoming Triwizard Tournament?" Tonks asked, "I am planning on handling some of the security for the Tournament, and need to know the official rules, so I don't interfere with them. If the rule book isn't available yet, don't worry about it. I can check for it later."

"Yes, ma'am," Samantha said, "When do you want this done?"

"Before I leave the office," Tonks said, "An hour or less. Thirty minutes if at all possible."

"I believe it can be done," Samantha said.

Tonks handed her the parchment, and the secretary hurried out of the office. Tonks breathed out a sigh of relief and headed into Amelia's office.

"If I was really Amelia Bones," Tonks muttered to herself, "And I had information about the freed Death Eaters, where would I put you?"

She walked over to Amelia's desk and sat down, then started rummaging through the drawers. When she reached the bottom drawer, she found it refused to budge. Closer inspection found what appeared to be a thumbprint lock.

"Well, that is unexpectedly 'Muggle' of you, boss," Tonks said.

She pressed her thumb onto the pad, hoping it worked, and grinned when she heard the locking mechanism whirl. She attempted to open the drawer again, and it worked! What she found inside, she did not expect.

It resembled a Muggle fax machine she had seen her father use many times. It was belching out parchment that rolled out into a large stack. Tonks picked up the stack and looked through it. Then she grinned.

"Bingo!" she said, victoriously.

What she had discovered were records of tracking charms, tracking several targets, including the freed Death Eaters from Azkaban. She attempted to use a copy charm on the parchment and, to her dismay, found it didn't work.

"Smart, boss," Tonks said, "Just makes me have to do it the hard way."

She found a dicta quill and a blank piece of parchment, and set them on the desk. Then she started reading several locations seen on the records. She chose the ones that repeated the most. According to the timestamps on the records, she was able to pinpoint out the locations the targets resided at. All she had to do was find the late hours of the evening in which her targets were likely sleeping. Which would likely be the location they were currently living at.

As she read through the addresses, she started noticing something. She took out the records of the residences she had found in the Hall of Magical Records and compared them to those on the list she was working on.

"Interesting," Tonks muttered, "Almost all of the freed Death Eaters are bunked up with the other targets Harry and Hermione listed. Meaning most of these locations will have at least two targets. Convenient, but also rather risky."

Thirty minutes after she arrived in the office, Tonks was rummaging through different file cabinets looking for relevant information, when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," she said, as she turned to the door.

Samantha walked into the room, carrying a large book and a few folders. She walked over to Amelia's desk, and placed everything on the desk.

"Good news, Madam Bones," Samantha said, "I was able to get the requested blueprints of all the names on your list. And I was able to acquire a copy of the Triwizard Tournament rulebook."

"Up to date?" Tonks asked, as she looked at the book Harry had requested, "These are the official rules for the upcoming Tournament?"

"Yes, ma'am," Samantha said.

"Who gave it to you?" Tonks asked.

"Bartemius Crouch's secretary," Samantha said, "Crouch wasn't available. They said the rulebook had recently been completed. A couple days ago, I believe. Said it was a final draft."

Tonks nodded. The secretary would be another target for Obliviation. She needed to cover all of her tracks.

"And the blueprints?" she asked.

"Nobody was in the Department, ma'am," Samantha said, "I-I hope you don't mind, but – um – I went into the Department myself and found the requested information and copied it. Nobody knew I was there. I could go back and find someone to let them know."

"Nonsense," Tonks said, "You did perfectly well. You may return to your own work. Thank you for an excellent job."

"Thank you, ma'am," Samantha said, then exited the office.

Tonks picked up the folder of blueprints and looked through it. What she found was amazing. Samantha had gone above and beyond what Tonks had requested. Tonks wanted to kiss the witch. The folder didn't only have the blueprints, it also had records of the known Wards set on the residence. She knew it likely wasn't all the wards – nobody was dumb enough to make all of their wards public knowledge. But this information would give them an idea of just what type of wards they would encounter. It was exactly what she had been searching for in Amelia's office for the past half-hour.

Confident she had acquired all the information Harry had desired, Tonks returned the office to what it had appeared as when she entered, gathered all of what she had acquired, and walked out of the office. She needed to cover all of her tracks before leaving the Ministry. Until then she could not consider her mission a success.

* * *

It was nearing eight-o-clock that evening and Harry, Hermione, Remus and Sirius were in the event room eating dinner at the circular dining table. Tonks had yet to return, and everyone at the table was nervous and worried for the young Auror Cadet. At the current moment, they were discussing some of the finer points of Amelia and Susan's visit.

After Harry and Susan had returned to the Manor from their long tour on the Grounds, Harry had treated her to a tour of most of Potter Manor. The one thing he hadn't shown her during the original tour was the basement. That was something he wanted to show off with Hermione. Susan was very impressed with the office across the hall from Harry's bedroom. She admired the Potter Family Tapestry for several minutes, looking through Harry's ancestors for any that might have been on her own family tree. She had found three of her ancestors, but the last one hadn't lived for nearly two centuries.

"Most of the highborn and pureblood families are interrelated," Susan commented, "As long as we don't have the same grandparents, it is perfectly okay to marry even though we might be distant cousins. So much better than first cousins or even siblings inbreeding. But it is sadly common in pureblood families who wish to avoid getting married to even half-bloods because it would spoil their bloodline. I don't care about that, and Daphne and Luna don't seem to care either."

Harry was rather embarrassed when Susan wanted to get a good look at his bedroom. Thankfully she didn't comment on the large bed, nor the hot tub in the Master bath. Harry knew in a few years that Susan would likely join him more than once in both areas. He just didn't want to talk about that yet. Apparently Susan seemed to wish to avoid that conversation too.

Aside from the basement, the last room of the tour was the library, where they found Hermione exploring the shelves. Harry had found a large stack of thick and, often, rather aged books sitting on the table. He decided not to ask whether Hermione could read all of those books by the end of the summer. Susan was rather impressed by the library. While it wasn't anywhere near as large as the Hogwarts library, she said it was a bit larger than the library at Bones Manor. Hermione seemed to salivate at the thought of another library to explore. Then her expression turned to slight disappointment when Susan informed her most of the books in her family library were either copies of those in the Potter Family library or the library at Hogwarts. Harry simply snickered at her expression, causing her to glare at him.

When Hermione asked Susan if she could point out any books she could read up on before their planned lessons on behaving in pureblood society, Susan was only too happy to help. She found at least three books on the subject. Harry groaned when Susan told him he had to read at least one of the books before she returned for their first lesson.

After they left the library – Harry having to bribe and entice Hermione to leave – they made their way to the basement. Susan loved the bar area, though she thought the game of darts was rather confusing. She was very impressed when Harry and Hermione showed off their knife-throwing skills. When they told her why they had trained in the sport, she agreed that it could be an excellent weapon if they were disarmed. When Hermione asked Susan about her tour on the grounds with Harry, Susan was only too eager to discuss a few things. Harry had decided to play a solo round of darts.

When Susan commented on kissing him, he wished he was old enough to drink something from the bar. He reckoned it might have not been so bad if Hermione was actually a little upset at the fact that he and Susan kissed three times. Mostly she just seemed amused and eager to talk about it. Harry just wanted to drown it out. Thankfully Hermione decided not to tread into the tale of the previous Saturday when Hermione upped their intimacy slightly. Harry didn't know Hermione was so experienced in girl talk. Then he had come to realize that she had spent six years bunking with Lavender and Parvati, the Gryffindor gossip queens. Hanging around them that long had to have some dangerous side-effects.

After another long and mostly innocent conversation, this time including Sirius, Remus and Amelia once again, it was time for Amelia and Susan to leave. Susan promised she would devise a few lesson plans for the planned pureblood etiquette lessons, and would contact them via Owl Post as to when she could visit them next. Harry hoped it would be _after _their planned assassinations.

Just as they had escorted Amelia and Susan to Potter Manor, Harry and Sirius had, too, led them to the gate to leave. Harry thought that Susan might kiss him again. She did, but only on the cheek in farewell. Sirius and Amelia cast them rather amused looks, and the same expression on Sirius' face didn't leave until long after he and Harry had returned to the Manor. Thankfully, Sirius seemed to have enough tact to not ask Harry on whether or not Susan did more than a peck on the cheek that afternoon.

At a couple minutes before eight-o-clock, Tonks walked into the event room to the relief of everyone sitting at the table.

"Where exactly have you been, young lady?" Sirius asked, "We were worried about you! We thought you had gotten in trouble at the Ministry! I pictured you in chains, getting interrogated."

"Well, hello to you too, cousin," Tonks said, snorting lightly as she sat down at the table. "I left the Ministry hours ago. It was Mum who had me in chains. And she was indeed interrogating me. Mostly on when I am going to give her grandbabies."

Harry swore that he had seen her glance at him for a mere second before she looked back at Sirius. He did his best to control the heat in his cheeks.

"She also wants you to visit again," she said to Sirius.

Sirius groaned. "Doesn't she understand I am busy at the moment?"

"No," Tonks said, "Mum is under the impression you're sitting around moping due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."

Sirius snorted and muttered something that sounded like "not anymore."

"I'll write her a letter and tell her I'm fine," Sirius said, "Hopefully that will quell the mad woman. Is there anything else you wanted to tell us?"

"Like what?" Tonks asked, grinning.

"You're as mad as your mother!" Sirius huffed, "Your visit to the Ministry, brat. Quit leaving us in suspense. We've been waiting for you, worried sick. You could have written us to tell us you were fine."

"I don't know why you're so worried, cousin," Tonks said, "It went completely fine. Do you seriously doubt my abilities that much?"

"I worried you'd trip and fall down a lift shaft," Harry said, grinning.

Tonks glared playfully at him. "There are enchantments that prevent exactly that, prat."

"Were they added because of you?" Harry asked.

"I'm going to assume this dark humor is because you're relieved to see me," Tonks said, "Here. The rewards of my plunder."

She reached into her robes and pulled out a small bag. Apparently it was enchanted with Extension Charms because she began pulling out creme-colored folders and a large book. Harry grabbed the book before Hermione could take it, and he gazed at the title.

"This has all the current rules for this year's Tournament?" Harry asked.

"Apparently it was finished two days ago," Tonks said, "It is the official rulebook."

"Excellent," Harry said.

"What all did you find?" Remus asked.

Tonks began tapping each folder with her finger as she named off different things. "Residential addresses including descriptions of the residence, whether it be manor, cottage or decrepit old shack. Family information including spouses, children, next of kin, so on and so forth. Blueprints of most of the residences – and you'll love this, Remus – with some descriptions of the wards and protective enchantments."

"You're _joking_?" Remus asked, his eyes glistening.

"It likely doesn't have all the wards listed," Tonks said, "But there is a few listed. Figured we could base the difficulty of destroying the wards through the descriptions."

"Good plan," Remus said.

"Also," Tonks said, "I found this odd machine in a secure drawer in Amelia's office. It apparently recorded all the tracking records of the recently freed Death Eaters from Azkaban."

"Amelia said she had been tracking them," Remus said, nodding, "She said they were mostly living with people that we've probably listed already as targets – Death Eaters."

"Aw!" Tonks groaned, looking very mopey, "That was supposed to be _my _big reveal! I was excited when I discovered the freed Death Eaters are bunking with some known Death Eaters! It was good intel!"

"Oh, it is definitely good intel," Sirius said, "Course it also means we're probably going to encounter at least two targets in several of these locations."

"I think we'll find most locations which don't have families have at least two Death Eaters staying there," Remus said; he brushed tired eyes with his fists, "If we weren't so intent on beginning our assassination missions tonight – well, tonight after a good night's rest, and a spin of the time-turner, I'd suggest we do a bit of reconnaissance on our first targets just to figure out how many targets we're dealing with at each location. We're ready for two targets at each location. But what if there are more?"

"Won't the house-elves be able to tell how many people are in a house?" Hermione asked.

"Possibly," Remus conceded.

"We can't do reconnaissance," Harry said, "We would risk detection. If the locations have protective enchantments, we'd have to drop them before we could even do reconnaissance. Dropping the wards and leaving the targets alive to find something odd? Yeah, I already know that is a _horrible _plan."

"I completely agree," Sirius said, "No reconnaissance, Remus. We're ready. So there might be three targets in one location. If they're asleep, it is no different than one or two targets. Let's start taking these bastards down.""

Remus sighed and nodded. "You're right. Alright. We have a bit of work to do, but we need to get to bed and be asleep by ten-o-clock. Alarm charms on pillows set to five-thirty tomorrow morning. Then we'll take the time-turner back to eleven-o-clock tonight. That will give us six hours to work. Between the two planned teams, we could each get to three locations a piece before the night is over."

"That is possibly a dozen targets dead by the time we finish tomorrow morning," Hermione said, her eyes wide.

"Precisely," Remus said, "If these missions take two or three days total, there will be less of a chance of us being discovered. Alright. Let's pick out our first night's targets. Right now, we're focused on those who don't have spouses and families. Those who will not be discovered dead or missing in the morning."

"Question," Harry said, "The Tracking Charms. Will they detect whether or not the person with the charm on them is living or deceased."

"No," Sirius said, "Those are entirely different Charms. Tracking Charms merely records locations. Unfortunately, it means we can't move the bodies. Dead bodies can still be tracked."

"So," Tonks said, "Make the deaths look accidental, suicidal, or hide the bodies on the location."

"At least until we can gather them all up and put them in one location together," Sirius said, "I still like the idea of them being found in one location, all dead from apparently disagreements and internal battles."

"Okay," Remus said, "Let's find the first targets of the night."

"Antonin Dolohov," Harry said, as he glanced at Hermione, "He's mine."

Remus nodded, took a folder and looked through it. He then took another folder and looked through another bit of information.

"Antonin Dolohov is apparently bunking with Walden MacNair," he said.

"The man who nearly executed Buckbeak," Harry said, nodding.

"Head Executioner of the Magical Beasts Division," Remus said, "Interesting. He lives out in the middle of nowhere, with a few acres of land. Hmm... living in solitude, on a fair bit of land. Dark obsession with creatures, both magical and mundane. Something tells me you're going to find out our friend, MacNair, might have a little zoo of magical creatures."

"You think he likes to hunt them for sport?" Hermione asked, frowning.

"Indeed," Remus said.

Sirius grinned. "That gives me an idea. But I'll keep it to myself for now."

"Alright," Remus said, "So Harry, Hermione and Sirius, your first targets are Dolohov and MacNair."

"According to the blueprints, the house is quite small," Tonks said, "A bit of a country cottage, pretty much. Two floors, but it appears to be roughly the size of your house, Hermione. Maybe smaller."

"How about the wards?" Sirius asked.

"The listed Wards are very few and boring," Tonks said, "Living in solitude, I don't think MacNair is worried about too many intruders. I think you're mostly going to be dealing with Muggle Repelling Wards, and enchantments that will keep all of those creatures he captured on his property."

"Still, make sure the elves on your team do a thorough check," Remus said; Sirius nodded, and Remus gazed at the information in front of him. "Winners for our first targets, Tonks. Mulciber and Selwyn. Selwyn lives alone, but his family was highborn, so while he doesn't live in a manor, he still lives in a fairly nice-sized house. According to the Tracking Charm records, Mulciber, one of those freed from Azkaban, is staying with him."

Remus ran through the details of the wards. Then he moved onto his next targets, and grimaced.

"Tonks," he said, looking at the Cadet. "It appears we have a Triple Threat."

"Who?" Tonks asked.

"Avery, Jugson and Travers," Remus said.

"Sirius can help you with them," Harry said, "My second target of the night will not have a Death Eater with them, and they'll be alone."

"Who?" Hermione asked.

"Dolores Umbridge," Harry said. "The two of us can take her out together."

"Are you sure, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"It will be two-on-one, Sirius," Harry said, "And I don't think she's the kind of person who trusts house-elves. Probably considers them filthy. She'll be absolutely alone. Far better odds than three-on-three."

"He's right, Sirius," Remus said.

Sirius nodded. "Alright. One more target. If we don't get to them on our first night they'll be the first targets tomorrow night."

Harry chose Augustus Rookwood, who was apparently bunking with Yaxley. So they would be his and Hermione's third targets, and possibly Sirius' if he was done with the triple threat. Remus and Tonks chose Rowle and Gibbon.

"Alright," Remus said, "We have our first night's targets. If we succeed with all of them, then we'll only have the targets who have spouses and children left. We'll have several hours to plan and prepare for them. With that, it is time for bed. Remember, Alarm Charms on your pillows set for five-thirty tomorrow morning. Sleeping gives us an alibi. Remember that."

Harry and Hermione stood, said their 'good nights' and 'farewells', and headed up to their separate rooms. Harry had changed into his pyjamas and was getting ready for bed, when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. Hermione walked into the room, with a worried expression.

"What's wrong, love?" Harry asked.

"Can I sleep in here tonight?" Hermione asked, "With you?"

Harry spluttered. "Uh... what about our alibis?"

"So we'll appear to be sleeping together," Hermione said, shrugging, "No big deal. I need this. Please? Just sleep. Nothing more."

Harry nodded. Hermione smiled, shut the door behind her, then walked over to the bed and crawled onto it. She tapped the pillows with her wand.

"Alarm charms set for five-thirty," Hermione said.

Harry blew out the lamp on his side of the bed, and laid down. Hermione blew out the lamp on her side, engulfing the room in darkness. Then she cuddled up to Harry, and wrapped her arms around him.

"You're not telling me something," Harry said.

"I need this comfort, Harry," Hermione said, "If only to give me more courage as to what we'll be doing soon."

"Oh," Harry said, "Right. I understand. I'm nervous too, just so you know."

"Not sure if that makes me feel better," Hermione said. "Harry? I love you."

"I love you too, Hermione," Harry said.

Harry listened to Hermione's breathing calm down as she slowly fell asleep. Harry kissed her forehead, then closed his eyes, and the pair fell asleep together for the first time.

What only seemed like minutes later, Harry awoke to his pillow vibrating against his head. Hermione stirred beside him and yawned then sat up. She turned to him, looking nervous.

"It is time," she said. "Don't worry about a specific outfit, Harry. Our jewelry will change them into appropriate attire. Just pick something."

Then she stood from the bed and proceeded to leave the room without another word. Harry frowned as he looked at the indentation in his bed that was the only evidence Hermione had slept there. He thought about her last words to him. They sounded almost emotionless, mechanical. She was in a mind-set, preparing herself to commit murder. Necessary murder, but Harry had to admit it to himself – it was in cold blood.

Harry groaned, doing his best to shake the thoughts away as he sat up. Over the next few minutes, he dressed into nondescript clothing. He did his best not to think that the clothes might have bloodstains on them by the time he returned to the Manor. He strapped his two knives to his belt, pocketed his wand and put on his two pieces of Metamorph Jewelry, as well as the runic dragonhide gloves. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and pocketed it, then made his way out of his bedroom. Hermione was waiting for him. He could see the glistening of her Metamorph earrings in her ears, and the time-turner around her neck. As he approached her, she offered a hand and he took it and squeezed it gently.

Neither said a word as they made their way downstairs. When they arrived in the event room, they found Remus, Sirius and Tonks waiting for them.

"Good morning," Remus said, a soft smile on his lips. "After we travel back in time, we will summon the teams of house-elves. They can take us to the locations through house-elf Apparation since we've never been to the locations ourselves. The house-elves understand what is going on, and are prepared to assist us. We will change our disguises after we travel back in time, but before we leave the Manor."

Remus reached into his robes and took out three small mirrors, then handed them to Harry, Hermione and Tonks.

"These are communication mirrors," Remus explained. "They're all on the same frequency, and are charmed so only we can hear them. Keep them handy at all times in case one of us needs the others. Be prepared for anything. We may have to end a mission abruptly if something happens. If this happens, we'll immediately return here with the house-elves' assistance. Any questions?"

There were none.

"We've been training for this for the past week," Remus said. "Remember your training, keep vigilant and be careful. And last but not least, good luck. We're doing a lot of good tonight, though you may be having doubts about it right now. This will help us, and the world in general, in the future. Remember that. Are we ready?"

Everyone nodded, though Harry's and Hermione's were noticeably hesitant. Remus motioned to Hermione, and she gently grasped her time-turner. She then began to stretch the necklace and offered it to the other four in the group. They took hold of the golden chain with both hands. Hermione then looked around at everyone, before looking at Harry last. She smiled for the first time since she awoke that morning, and turned the hourglass seven times.

The group of would-be assassins vanished.

* * *

**Yep. Decided to end it there. I know. It is evil of me. But I thought it was an excellent tease and set up. Also I couldn't resist the chapter title. The title, and the next two titles have to do with a rather popular quote in Harry Potter. Know what it is? Then you might know what the next two chapter titles are. -evil cackling-**

**Whew, this is about to get VERY Dark. I mean, we're verging on borderline, albeit temporary, Dark Harry and Hermione! It is always darkest before the dawn. (That could have been another chapter title, but I decided against it).**

**Next Chapter: Harry, Hermione and Sirius target Antonin Dolohov and Walden MacNair. Harry and Hermione then target Dolores Umbridge. Then Remus, Sirius and Tonks encounter the triple threat. And the chapter ends in a cliffhanger that changes EVERYTHING in this little storyline. Hint: the last word of the chapter is one of the characters uttering a swear word (if I planned it right). –more evil cackling-**

**Hope you liked this chapter!**


	40. Step 2: We Get There

**Chapter 40  
Step 2: We Get There**

**Author's Note: This chapter gets DARK, dear readers. Heed the warnings below, and read at your own risk. Violence wise, this might be my most risque chapter to date. Early apologies for any negative reaction to some of the scenes. My muse got really Dark for this chapter.**

**Warning: Multiple Character Deaths, Gross Images, Graphic Violence, Torture, Gore, and Language. DO NOT EAT while reading this chapter. I was holding back bile while writing some of this chapter.**

**Editing Note: I accidentally had Umbridge recognize Harry even under his disguise. That is changed now to fit the situation.**

* * *

**"No Battle Plan Survives Contact With The Enemy" – Helmuth von Moltke**

* * *

_Previously on "The Vanishing Cabinet of Time"..._

_Remus motioned to Hermione, and she gently grasped her time-turner. She then began to stretch the necklace and offered it to the other four in the group. They took hold of the golden chain with both hands. Hermione then looked around at everyone, before looking at Harry last. She smiled for the first time since she awoke that morning, and turned the hourglass seven times._

_The group of would-be assassins vanished._

* * *

**Saturday, July 5th, 1994 – Late Evening**

To an outside viewer, the group of five soon-to-be assassins appeared to have vanish into thin air. To Harry and his accomplices, they appeared to be standing in one spot, as the room around them changed slightly. The hands of the grandfather clock nearby spun in reverse wildly, one single house-elf seemed to zip around the room cleaning and scrubbing in reverse, before vanishing. Then everything came to a complete stop, and they were standing in the same spot they had just left the future from.

Remus glanced at the grandfather clock. "Eleven-o-clock, Saturday evening. Excellent job, Hermione."

Remus snapped his fingers twice, and ten of the residence's eleven house-elves appeared.

"Team Leader Alpha," Remus said, looking at Dobby, "You and your team will go with Harry, Hermione and Sirius. Team Leader Bravo -" this time to Melina, "- with Tonks and myself."

The house-elves had been instructed to take orders from Remus and Sirius during the missions, unless otherwise instructed. Dobby and Melina both nodded and spoke to their teams in elvish language, then they moved to their respective groups.

"Change your appearances everyone," Remus said, "The first piece of Metamorph jewelry will stop working in three hours. Remember that."

Hermione and Harry changed their appearance to Belle and the human version of the Beast from _Beauty and the Beast. _Tonks became slightly taller with a larger bust, blue eyes and a blonde ponytail – Harry could describe her as a pin-up model. Remus seemed to take inspiration from Harry and Hermione. He had taken the appearance of whom Harry was sure resembled Aragorn from _The Lord of the Rings. _He recalled reading some of the book in primary school. Sirius' appearance resembled what Harry could only assume was a cliché idea of a member of a motorcycle gang: large, and threatening looking.

Sirius told Alpha Team the address of their first location. Dobby offered a hand to Harry and he took it. Hermione and Sirius took another house elf's hand when they offered.

"Good luck, everyone," Remus said, "Keep an ear on your mirrors. Contact the other team if you need anything. Remember, no battle plan survives contact with the enemy. Thankfully most of our enemies will be asleep."

As everyone soaked this in, Sirius nodded to Dobby, and the Event Room of Potter Manor vanished around Harry. Soon he was standing on the border between a dense forest, and a large field of farmland. In the distance, Harry could see a cottage home nestled in the center of farmland.

"Remain where you're standing," Sirius instructed, "Dobby, I assume the Wards are directly in front of us."

"Yes, Commandant Padfoot," Dobby said; Harry snickered, realizing Sirius asked Dobby to call him that, "Dobby sees a large dome of protective enchantments circling the residence in the distance."

"How long until the wards are down?" Sirius asked.

"Dobby believes ten minutes or less," Dobby said, "Dobby could cut the time in half if Commandant Padfoot wishes Dobby to summon Team Bravo."

"No," "Sirius said, "Do what you can with your own team. Remember, look for Alarm Wards, and other alert enchantments first."

Dobby bowed then spoke in elvish to his team. They knelt to the ground and pressed their little palms into the ground.

"I'm guessing the creature cages are on the far side of the residence," Sirius said.

"Why is that important?" Hermione asked.

"It isn't, not exactly," Sirius said, waving a dismissive hand, "Aside from the fact that a loud growl or howl could alert the targets. We're lucky we're on the opposite side. Alright. The two of you will seek out Dolohov. I'll take out MacNair. We could be out of here within half-an-hour."

"If we're out of here in that short of time," Harry said, "Why are we only planning on visiting only three locations a piece this evening?"

"Between the two of you and myself," Sirius said, "That was Remus' idea. He believes three locations is the limit before you cross the line between sanity and losing your wits. He believes you need to rest your mind and emotions in order to focus on the next targets."

"I think I can agree with that," Hermione said.

"Hermione, you know you don't have to kill anyone tonight if you don't have to," Harry said, "I'll do it myself. You could simply be here as the eyes in the back of my head."

"Harry, I've been preparing myself all week for this," Hermione said.

"On mannequins!" Harry said, trying his best not to scream at his girlfriend, "Last night, you slept in my bed because you still doubted yourself. Look at me. I'm willing to do this, to take lives, because it is my fate to take a life before all this shite is over, Hermione."

Hermione winced at his swearing. "Fine. If it comes to it, I'll do what I must. But if we encounter sleeping targets, you can do 'em in."

Harry could clearly see that Hermione was upset. Obviously she thought that he didn't consider her ready for this. He supposed that was true. But what he also said was true. He would have to take a life, no matter how evil the monster was, before it was over. He would plow his way through the bastard's followers to get to the monster, if only so nobody innocent, nobody he cared for, nobody he loved would have to die this time around. The fact that Sirius was standing next to him, alive and mostly healthy was enough for him to do what was necessary. Even if it meant becoming a murderer, killing in cold blood.

"I'm just going to ignore the fact that I clearly heard you say Hermione slept in your bed last night, Harry," Sirius said.

"Nothing happened," Hermione said, "He didn't even get to first base. I needed his comfort."

"Did it work?" Sirius asked.

"Does it look like it did?" Harry asked.

Sirius didn't answer, and neither did Hermione. Harry sighed, knowing he'd have to deal with an angry girlfriend when all was said and done. He just hoped she waited to blow her top until _after _their first night of missions were done.

He decided to take his mind off of the thought of angry girlfriends, by watching the house-elves. Observing them pour their own type of magic into the wards none of the humans could see was fascinating. He knew by the time the night was over, the house-elves would be exhausted. They would deserve a long rest away from their duties before they had to do it all over again. Harry would do all their at-home duties by himself if he had to, just as an expression of thanks and gratitude.

The house-elves were doing amazing work. It was ironic how many wizards looked down upon house-elves. A house-elf army could be very useful. They were proving that right now. Even if they didn't fight physically – something Harry vowed he would never allow the elves do during these missions – they were still useful at what they could do.

"The Wards are down, Commandant Padfoot," Dobby said, roughly ten minutes after the house-elves started their work.

"The targets weren't alerted?" Sirius asked.

"No, sir," Dobby said.

"How many individuals are there on the premises?" Sirius asked.

"Dobby detects two humans, sir," Dobby said, "One on the lower floor, one on the upper floor. Dobby believes they are sleeping. There are several creatures, both magical and mundane, all of which are in cages."

"No house-elves?" Sirius asked.

"Dobby detects none," Dobby said.

"Excellent," Sirius said. "Dobby, your team is to remain here and rest until we call for you. Excellent work, all of you."

Dobby and the elves thanked him.

"Let's go," Sirius said, to Harry and Hermione, "Wands out. Vigilance is necessary. Stay together. Disillusion yourselves, but allow us to see you."

"Why Disillusionment Charms if we're disguised?" Harry asked.

"Don't want one of the targets waking up and looking out the window at us crossing the fields," Sirius said.

Harry conceded this as an excellent point. They disillusioned themselves, but let their allies see them. They kept their wands at the ready as they started across the field. The five minute trek across the empty fields made the three assassins feel very vulnerable. The fields were barren, just rough dirt that was difficult to walk across. Halfway across the field, Hermione muttered something about wishing they were walking through corn or wheat fields, and Harry had to agree. Then Sirius said that MacNair probably used this farmland, and the forest behind them, as hunting grounds for the creatures. Harry also had to agree with that.

Soon they arrived at the front porch of the cottage. Sirius waved his wand around continuously checking for magical signatures of possibly security enchantments that the elves hadn't detected. Harry was very relieved when they reached the front door. He, Hermione and Sirius all applied Muffling Charms to their shoes. Then Sirius applied silencing charms on the door, including the hinges, and performed unlocking charms, both normal and advanced. He then cautiously reached for the door and opened it. The three assassins gave a combined sigh of relief when the door opened silently and safely.

"I'll lead," Sirius said, in a low voice, "Just in case there are more booby traps. Dobby said there is one of the targets on the main floor. My bet is it is Dolohov in the sitting room. You go there, I'll make my way upstairs. Be vigilant and careful. No more speaking out loud unless it is incantations. Hand signals from now on."

Harry and Hermione nodded. Sirius led them into the cottage, where they found a fairly long entrance corridor, with a stairway leading to the top floor on their right. Sirius pointed at Harry and Hermione and directed them forward. He then pointed at himself, and pointed up. Then he slowly crept up the stairs, obviously mindful of any creaking steps.

Meanwhile, Harry pointed to the wall on the left side of the corridor, and nodded to Hermione. She nodded and pressed herself against the wall. Harry did the same on the right side, and they slowly crept down the corridor. There was a closed door at the very end of the hallway, and an arched doorway midway on the left side. Harry recalled the blueprints of the house and knew the sitting room was through the archway. Hermione arrived at the wall on the left side of the archway, and Harry crossed to the right side of it and pressed himself against the wall. Then he peered into the room. He immediately spotted a figure laying on a sofa.

He knew it was Antonin Dolohov.

He looked at Hermione, gave a thumbs-up, letting her know the target was there. Her eyes widened and she nodded. Harry pointed at himself, then inside the room. Hermione backed up and pointed her wand into the room, then Harry entered it, training his wand on Dolohov. Hermione entered the room behind him, and walked over to a corner of the room, where she had a perfect view of the archway and Dolohov.

Harry gazed upon the sleeping form of Antonin Dolohov. He looked exactly the same as Harry had remembered him. Harry's mind flashed back to the battle in the Department of Mysteries. Antonin Dolohov's snarling face, menacing even though he had been silenced by a spell. Dolohov slicing his wand in a motion toward Hermione. Hermione's shocked, pained expression as she fell to the ground. Harry could remember the fear. The fear that Hermione was dead. He remembered that anger he felt toward Dolohov. It guided him now, as he raised his wand toward the sleeping Death Eater.

"Stupefy!" Harry snarled.

Dolohov's body jerked slightly, a sign that the curse had worked. Harry replayed the scene of Dolohov cursing Hermione in his head. The wand maneuver, the shock on Hermione's expression, the gasp she made. The way she fell. The anger which boiled in his mind.

"Diffindo!" Harry snarled.

The slicing maneuver his wand made was similar to that which Dolohov had made. It was quite satisfying to Harry. Even more satisfying was seeing the large cut in the Death Eater's throat as the dark red life essence began to drain from the man's throat and stain the sofa underneath him and the floor below.

No gurgling sound. No death rattle. No gasp or wide eyes resembling shock. A Stunned figure won't do any of that. All that came from Dolohov, as Death claimed him in his sleep, was silence.

"He's gone, Hermione," Harry said, staring at the fresh corpse of the man who had once nearly murdered the woman he loved, "He can't hurt you anymore."

"Harry," Hermione said, "It is obvious this is murder. We need to cover our tracks."

Harry gazed at the scene in front of him. When he sliced a mannequin's throat, the blood didn't seem as messy. This... this was messy. Hermione was right. This was obvious murder. Harry swallowed bile that rose in his throat and tried to come up with a solution. He opened his mouth to reply, when he was cut off by a hellish, almost demonic growling. Harry turned toward the window.

"Was that one of the creatures?" Harry asked.

Before Hermione could respond, there was another sound. This was different than an creature's growl. This was the sound of pain. Human pain. God-awful screaming!

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, then ran from the room and hurried outside. Neither knew why, but they were running toward the sounds. The sounds of growling and screaming became louder, before the screams turned into a death rattle. As Harry and Hermione ran forward, a single orb of light from a wand broke through the darkness. Harry was about to send a curse toward the light when he realized the face shining in the light was that of Sirius'.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, "I thought you were upstairs. What the bloody hell –?"

Then the smell reached Harry's nostrils. The smell of death and decay. Enough to make the bile he had swallowed return. Both he and Hermione retched.

"What the bloody hell?!" Harry groaned when he could retch no more.

Sirius said nothing. He merely pointed his wand toward the direction of the sounds and smell. A large orb of light illuminated a large cage. An large, vicious looking animal – Harry could not see what it was – was currently gnawing on something that resembled a _human leg. _The leg was attached to nothing else. But Harry could see what it belonged to. Because the rest of the human's body was in bits and pieces around the creature's cage. Blood and gore could be seen everywhere in, on and near the cage.

"Is that... MacNair?" Harry asked, "_Why _did you do that?"

"In the bastard's bedroom, there is a small chest," Sirius said, "It holds all sorts of trinkets. Playing cards, little toy figures, dolls, jewelry, pictures. None of it belonged to him. They belonged to his victims."

"Victims?" Harry asked.

"Muggles, most likely," Sirius said, "Muggles he kidnapped. Muggles he hunted. Muggles he let his creatures hunt. Why are the fields barren? Why is there no corn or wheat? The bastard wanted his victims to run then let the creatures run free to hunt them. The fields are barren because it is an arena. MacNair simply received what he dealt to his victims."

"My _God,_" Hermione said, her voice breaking.

"Good _fucking _riddance," Sirius said. "

"Well, I can see how this could be seen as an accidental death," Harry said, "But – ah – Dolohov. Well..."

"Blood everywhere?" Sirius asked. "Slicing a throat will do that. Did you Stun him?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"If you hadn't," Sirius said, "you would have seen the infamous crimson geyser."

"_Enough_, Sirius," Hermione hissed.

"I'm just letting you know, Hermione," Sirius said, "These aren't mannequins. Go back to Potter Manor if you can't take it. This is merely the first location. We have several more before we're finished. Comfort her if you must, Harry. I'll clean up Dolohov."

"Bury him," Harry said, "Do not feed him to – whatever that was."

"That was a Liger," Sirius said.

"I thought they were Muggle science experiments!" Hermione said.

"Wizards discovered them long before Muggles," Sirius said, "One of the few things wizards are more advanced than Muggles at. As you can tell, that is no normal Liger. A mutation, probably something done by MacNair himself. Good _fucking _riddance. We leave in fifteen minutes. I'll go with you to Umbridge's residence until Remus and Tonks request my presence."

Sirius walked back toward MacNair's house before Harry or Hermione could reply. Harry walked over to Hermione, took her hand and walked away from the creatures until they could no longer smell the odors of death and decay. When they were a good distance away, Hermione collapsed into Harry's arms, hugging him.

"Your godfather is insane," Hermione muttered.

"Possibly," Harry said, "In reality, he is just getting his own brand of vengeance after twelve years of letting it boil and stew. Some of these Death Eaters we're targeting were likely in his Cell Block, taunting him. He's getting his revenge on them. Also... well... he can't kill Pettigrew right now, so he's pushing that onto other Death Eaters. It is justice, plain and simple. Same as what I did to Dolohov. I... I saw red when I saw Dolohov. My mind flashed back to when you nearly died, when he nearly killed you. I remembered every little detail. I remembered my anger. I... I think I could achieve any of the Unforgivables if I had to."

Hermione sniffled, backed away and looked at him. "I don't like what this is doing to us."

"I know," Harry said, "But it needs to happen. I'm sorry, Hermione. Go back to Potter Manor if you must."

"I'm not leaving you alone, Harry," Hermione said. "I may be a bit angry at you for some of what has happened tonight. But someone has to stop you from using Unforgivables. I don't think Sirius will do it. By the way. In the morning, we're going to Diagon Alley. I'm going to buy some Dreamless Sleep Potions. I'll have nightmares after tonight."

Harry didn't reply. He merely held her and comforted her.

* * *

**Sunday, July 6th, 1994**

Harry reckoned it was sometime past midnight when he, Hermione and Sirius left the residence of the recently, but not dearly, departed Walden MacNair. Dobby and his courageous team of house-elves had transported them to their next location. They were now standing on a gravel road in front of a large Victorian-style Manor, the apparent home of Dolores Umbridge. The Manor rose above them on a hill. The light of the crescent moon cast an eerie shadow on the manor. A wrought iron fence and gate stood between the Manor and the road they now stood on.

Before traveling to their next location, Sirius assured them that Antonin Dolohov was now six feet under the ground of the former MacNair residence. The sitting room was cleaned of all evidence of a violent murder. Sirius had given his congratulations to Harry for a job well done. But Harry recognized his voice had been solemn. Perhaps Sirius was feeling some remorse for his earlier attitude to Hermione? Harry hoped so. If not, his girlfriend's friendship with his godfather was about to get very rocky. He didn't want to get in between that.

"Dobby?" Sirius said, "Information on Wards and Protective Enchantments?"

"Strong, but nowhere near as strong as Harry Potter's home," Dobby said, "Twenty minutes tops, Commandant Padfoot, if we include the gate.."

"Please proceed," Sirius said.

This time there was no discussion between Harry, Hermione and Sirius. Merely silence. It made the wait almost unbearable. Fifteen minutes later, the house-elves were still working. Suddenly, a voice made Harry, Hermione and Sirius jump. They sighed in relief when they realized it was Remus in Sirius' mirror.

"Padfoot, this is Moony," Remus said, "Come in."

"Commandant Padfoot hears you loud and clear," Sirius said.

"Update?" Remus asked.

"MacNair and Dolohov are no longer in the land of the living," Sirius said. "We are now at the Toad's residence wanting for Alpha to destroy the wards. How about you?"

"Selwyn and Mulciber are both dead and buried," Remus said, "We're now at the Triple Threat. What, Tonks? Yes, I'm getting there! Padfoot, we've run into a problem. Two of our targets are awake and roaming the grounds around the house; I believe they're having a conversation. We need help. We're lucky they haven't detected us or the house-elves."

"Go, Sirius," Harry said, "Two-on-one and three-on-three."

"Send me a Bravo elf for transportation," Sirius said.

Immediately one of the house-elves appeared.

"Contact us if you need _anything,_" Sirius said, "And keep the mirror available for check-in."

"Understood," Harry said, "Good luck."

"You as well," Sirius said. "Dobby, Harry is now in charge."

He took the elf's hand and they vanished. Almost immediately, Dobby turned to Harry.

"Harry Potter, the wards are down and the gate is unlocked," he said.

"Number of individuals on the premises?" Harry asked.

"One," Dobby said, "No house-elves."

Harry sighed in relief. He had been correct. "Where is the target?"

"Main floor," Dobby said, "Dobby believes she is somewhere between awake and asleep. Dobby apologizes for not being more help."

"The bitch is still awake?" Harry asked.

"Teetering between consciousness and sleep," Hermione said, "Is she drunk, Dobby?"

"Dobby believes so," Dobby said, "Former Master Malfoy was the same way many times."

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said, then thanked the other elves, "Remain here unless we call for you. I assume you can hear us from anywhere?"

"Yes, Harry Potter," Dobby said.

Harry thanked him again, then took Hermione's hand and they made their way through the gate and onto the premises. Since Sirius wasn't there to detect any magical enchantments that the house-elves may have missed, the couple had to be very careful. The trek toward the Manor was up a long, steep driveway. Soon, they safely reached the front door. They once again Muffled their shoes, then stealthily unlocked the door and opened it. Harry pressed his finger to his lips, a signal to Hermione to remain silent from now until he said so. Hermione nodded.

They stepped inside the Manor, and began to slowly move through the bottom floor of the house. Unfortunately, someone – likely Umbridge – appeared to have removed the blueprints of the Manor from public records, so they had no clue which room Umbridge was in. They set off, silently moving through the house, clearing each room they came to, until finally, three minutes after entering, they found Umbridge. She was sitting in a recliner chair, apparently unconscious, with at least three empty bottles of some type of alcohol on the coffee table nearby.

Harry leaned toward Hermione and whispered into her ear. "Search around for any possible portraits. They might connect to the Ministry and alert them to any sound. She has a high-up position after all."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, apparently wondering why he wanted to do this alone. Harry merely stared at her, and she sighed and moved down the corridor. Harry slowly entered the room, one eye on Umbridge, the other searching around the room for any portraits, large or small. He remembered that she had owned a small portrait of Fudge, but could not find any sign of it.

He pointed his wand at Umbridge. "Incarcerous!"

Ropes flew from his wand and wrapped around Umbridge's gut, arms and legs, as well as the chair she sat in. She started to groggily move her head, waking up. He placed a modified silencing spell on her. He wanted her to speak, but not scream. She would have a normal voice and could not raise it. He also summoned her wand, and he caught it as it flew toward him. Finally, he cast a Sobriety Charm he had found in the Potter Family Grimoire. Umbridge was now completely lucid. She narrowed her eyes when she saw him.

"Who are you?!" she growled as much as the modified silencing spell allowed her, "What the bloody hell are you doing in _my _home?"

"You may call me Lord Potter, Dolores," Harry said, deciding he would let her know who her assassin was, "And the answer to your question is simple. I'm here to kill you!"

Umbridge had the decency to look terrified. She tried to scream and found she couldn't. Her voice only reached as far as Harry,

"Even if you could scream, who you would call for?" Harry asked, "You live alone. Friendless. Nobody could ever love you. You own no house-elves. You _despise_ them, when in fact you should find them useful. Five house-elves destroyed your wards in twenty minutes. Alarm Charms first of course. I couldn't have you or anyone else knowing I had come. At least until I wanted you to. Your portraits connecting to the Ministry? My accomplice is silencing them as we speak. Nobody will come for you. You die as you live in this Manor of yours. _Alone._"

"What have I ever done to you, Mist – _Lord _Potter?" Umbridge asked, obviously hoping some respect would spare her.

"More than you can imagine, bitch," Harry snarled. "Recently you attempted to try to convince the Wizengamot my innocent godfather was guilty as sin. Then you attempted to discredit my parents' Will just because Goblins are in charge of it. Oh, and you've insulted my good friend Remus Lupin countless times just because he is a victim of a fate he could not control. And then there is what you did to me. Only... you can't remember that. How can you? You haven't done them to me yet, as far as you know."

"Lies!" Umbridge snarled, "Filthy lies!"

"Lies?" Harry echoed, "Oh, Dolores, dear girl. _We must not tell lies. _Maybe I should make sure you remember that clearly for the next few minutes before you die."

Harry conjured summoned two quills – normal ones, unfortunately – from a nearby desk. He levitated one above each of Umbridge's enclosed fists. Then he waved his wand in a few different maneuvers. He stood there as he watched the quills dig into Umbridge's hands, scratching a familiar message into her skin. No ink. Simply her blood. She tried her best to scream at the pain.

"Oh, it hurts," Harry said, "Believe me. I know. I wonder if it is less or more painful than what Blood Quills do."

Harry whipped his wand, and the quills dropped to the ground.

"Read it," Harry snarled, "Out loud."

Umbridge whimpered. "I-I... I must... I must not..."

"READ IT!" Harry screamed.

"I must not tell lies!" Umbridge groaned hoarsely.

"Oh, but you have," Harry said, nodding. "Many lies. All your life, you've spouted so many. Maybe you wouldn't be in this position if you had let that message _sink in _at a young age."

"Harry!" Hermione gasped as she entered the room.

"What is that Mudblood doing in my Manor?!" Umbridge growled. "Her filth stains my -"

"Incarcerous!" Harry growled.

More ropes appeared and wrapped around Umbridge's mouth, silencing her.

"You have uttered your last word, bitch," Harry snarled, "Unfortunate that it was to insult the woman I love more than life itself. I don't do well with insults in her direction."

"Harry, what are you doing?" Hermione asked, "This is not the plan!"

"No battle plan survives contact with the enemy, Hermione!" Harry hissed.

"Enough, Harry," Hermione cried, then pointed her wand at Umbridge, "Diffindo!"

Harry expected a mere slice of Umbridge's throat, like what had happened with Dolohov. What happened was far worse. Hermione's curse sliced through Umbridge's neck, and her eyes rolled back in her head. Then it was her head rolling. Right off of her neck and into her lap. Sirius' so-called crimson geyser followed, a fountain of blood erupting like a volcano. Harry turned, hurried over to Hermione and pushed her out of the room, so neither would have to see the horrific scene.

"I-I didn't -" Hermione spluttered, horrified at what she had just done, "I didn't mean -"

"What is it above all that makes your magic powerful, Hermione?" Harry said.

"Intent," Hermione said, as if answering a Professor's question at Hogwarts.

"Exactly," Harry said, "The history you had with Umbridge, what happened in our future, what might have been if things happened the same. You didn't want that to happen again."

"Of course not!" Hermione said.

"Intent, Hermione," Harry said, "Turned a small slice into decapitation. Dobby!"

Dobby appeared a moment later. "Yes, Harry Potter?"

"Please clean up the mess in that room," Harry said, pointing to the sitting room, "Brace yourself. It is bad. If you need Alpha team, let them help. Make Dolores Umbridge disappear."

"Yes, Harry Potter," Dobby repeated.

He walked into the sitting room. Harry turned to Hermione, and knew from her expression she disapproved of putting the elves in that situation. But if she was going to say anything, she was interrupted by Sirius' voice in the mirror. His command sent ice through their veins.

"Abort!" Sirius commanded, "Abort now! Back to Potter Manor, that is an order!"

* * *

_(Some minutes earlier)_

When Sirius landed at his destination, he found it was in a forest. Remus and Tonks were standing nearby. A few yards away, Team Bravo was working on overcharging wards.

"You said two of the targets are awake?" Sirius asked, "At this time at night?"

"Yes," Remus said, "I believe it is Jugson and Avery. Either means they're drunk, but not enough to send them to bed, or they're having a pretty big discussion over there."

"Or they're sentries," Tonks said.

"Two sentries while the other resident sleeps?" Sirius asked, "Unlikely."

"Team Bravo have been doing their best to quickly take down the enchantments," Remus said, "But they have to do it much more stealthier than we ever practiced this past week."

"Mister Moony?" Melina said, "Wards are down."

"Mister?" Sirius asked, with a snort, "So lame. Commandant is cool!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Thank you Melina. Sirius, Tonks, this is a 'listen first, kill later' order. We need to know what they're eagerly talking about. It might compromise our future missions."

"Right," Sirius said, "Disillusionment Charms. Let's go eavesdrop."

Sirius placed the Disillusionment Charm on himself, then started walking toward the log house, nestled in the middle of a forest. He waved his wand around, searching for traps, and didn't find any. He then pointed his wand to his ear and muttered a spell. His hearing became instantly better, the spell would last for a brief amount of time. He focused his hearing on the targets and listened."

"- going to tell me what's this big plan of yours you've been keeping secret from me and Travers, Avery?" Jugson said, "We don't like secrets!"

"I was about to, idiot," Avery said, "Silence your mouth, open your ears. We're in this position because Amelia Bones wants to keep an eye on us. Right? Tracking Charms? And if we leave Great Britain, we're fugitives."

Jugson grunted.

"However, I know for a fact Malfoy convinced Fudge to let us off, as free men," Avery said. "So... we take care of both Bones and Fudge at the same time. Turns out they'll _both _be at the Quidditch World Cup Finals in the same area of seats. We could Imperius one of their guests and do 'em in."

"We?" Jugson asked, "We can't get anywhere near them. Tracking charms, they'll find us."

"So we use someone who doesn't have a tracking charm on 'em," Avery said. "Malfoy, Nott, anyone of those 'friends' of ours who got off innocent while we rotted away. They'll be killed or caught after hopefully killing Fudge and Bones, and we'll be free to do what we want."

"That's all good and what-not," Jugson said, "But how do we even begin?"

"I've already begun," Avery said, "I've invited several of our 'friends' to this very house tomorrow evening, for a reunion. They'll be here between ten and eleven-o-clock. We'll figure out the plan then."

"Who is coming?" Jugson asked.

"Dolohov, MacNair," Avery said, "Selwyn, Mulciber -"

His voice faded as they started walking away. Sirius realized his charm was fading. Then he realized the implications Avery had just discussed. There would be a meeting tomorrow night, with Death Eaters, some of whom were dead, some of whom were alive still. The assassins couldn't get to all of them before the meeting without seriously messing up their plans. And if those Death Eaters who were alive came to this location and discovered their allies were dead. Then there were those who were already dead.

Sirius' eyes widened as reality set in. Then he uttered one word that summarized the whole problem.

"_Fuck!"_

* * *

**Dun-Dun-Dun!**

**If I didn't like using the swear word as the last word of the chapter, I would have ended it with the "Abort" command from earlier in the chapter. Technically it happens right after the swearword.**

**Hmm... I wonder if any other author, aside from me, has ever been sickened by the content they wrote. That perfectly describes me writing this chapter. I shocked myself with what I wrote.**

**I apologize for any sick stomachs, gross mental images, etc. this chapter caused. My muse has a mind of its own. Blame it.**

**Next chapter: Step 3: All Hell Breaks Loose. Harry and Co. come up with an absolutely MENTAL plan. The plan? Infiltrate the meeting using their Metamorph Jewelry to disguise them as Death Eaters they just murdered!**

**Um... I – ah – hope you liked this chapter?**


	41. A Break In The Basement

**Chapter 41  
A Break In The Basement**

**Author's Note: I decided "Step 3" won't happen until next chapter. This is a rather short filler chapter that is a bit of a humorous break between serious chapters with some storyline involved and a teeny Honks moment. And a Remus/Tonks moment that you shippers might like, but shouldn't cling to.  
**

**I made a HUGE mistake last chapter. I didn't realize until too late (1200 chapter views and 30 reviews too late) that Umbridge recognized Harry under his disguise. I changed it after I was made aware of it, and added an editor's note to last chapter. It is a simple miniscule change to fit the situation, but if you are one of several readers who didn't see the new change, I'm just letting you know it is different now.**

**Also, it appears that many of my readers have far better stomachs and have read a lot of violent stories. So it appears my stuff wasn't that bad. Good to know!**

**Warning: Language, Teenage Alcohol Use. Hermione Granger under the influence of ONE GLASS of firewhiskey is a funny thing.  
**

* * *

**Sunday, July 6th, 1994**

Dobby was still busy dealing with Dolores Umbridge's headless corpse – and hopefully her head as well – so another house-elf of Team Alpha had brought Harry and Hermione back to the event room of Potter Manor. Remus was waiting for them. He looked normal again. Harry and Hermione removed their jewelry, and they returned to their normal appearance. The house-elf with them vanished.

"Remus?" Harry asked, concerned, "Are you okay? Where's Sirius? Tonks? Are they okay?"

"None of us are injured, Harry," Remus said, "That isn't why the mission was aborted. Come on, we're going to the basement."

"Uh... why?" Harry asked, as he and Hermione followed him toward the basement.

"One, because it is the best place to be so our other selves do not run into us," Remus said, "And two – as Sirius said – because the bar is down there."

Harry raised his eyebrows. What had happened that Sirius had decided he needed to get drunk? Was it something worse than him feeding MacNair to a Liger?

When they reached the basement, they found Tonks attempting to play solo darts, and Sirius sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of firewhiskey.

"This is Moony's fault, Nymphadora," Sirius said, his voice slurring just slightly. "All his fault!"

"Even slightly pissed, you know not to call me that, Sirius," Tonks said.

"I am pissed!" Sirius said, "More than slightly. At Moony!"

"What is my fault?" Remus asked.

Tonks caught sight of Harry and Hermione, dropped her dart, and ran over to the young couple and hugged them both against her.

"Thank goodness!" she said, "I was so worried!"

"We're fine, Tonks," Harry said.

Hermione harrumphed, backed away from Tonks' grasp, walked over to an empty bar-stool and sat down. Nymphadora glanced at her then back at Harry. He simply shook his head in a 'I don't want to talk about it" way.

"What is my fault?" Remus repeated.

"That stupid quote you said," Sirius said, "No... no duel... no, _no battle, _that's it – ah, crap. What was it?"

"No battle plan survives contact with the enemy," Remus said.

"Yeah, that!" Sirius said, "You – you jinxed the whole thing. Hexed us all. We're cursed everyone... all cause of Moony! Cursed! What are you doing, Granger? Don't take that away from me!"

"I'm going to give it back," Hermione said, "I'm pouring myself a glass."

"Hermione," Remus began.

"Shut up, Remus," Hermione said, "You don't know what I've been through tonight. I'm technically eighteen, and I want a drink!"

Harry groaned. A drunk, hungover girlfriend might be worse than an angry girlfriend.

"Yeah, what she said goes for me too!" Sirius said. "Technically eighteen and all of that.,"

"You are nowhere near technically eighteen, cousin," Tonks said.

Harry walked over to Hermione and sat down on the stool next to her.

"Don't you dare try to take this from me, Harry Potter!" Hermione growled, protecting her drink she had yet to take a sip of.

"Only if you explain why," Harry said.

"Because a drink or three is better and more healthy than being angry at you," Hermione said. "I can be happy and still love you."

Harry snorted. "As much as I do agree that would benefit both of us, you _are _physically fourteen."

"Fine, a compromise," Hermione said, "One drink, and I get to be mad at you for an hour."

"How many hours if you have no drinks?" Harry asked.

"I am not agreeing to that," Hermione said, "One drink at my age will make me forget _why _I am angry at you in an hour. Along with everything else that happened tonight."

"But it will come back," Harry said.

"By then I can cope with it by myself," Hermione said. "Admit it, Harry. Allowing your girlfriend one drink is far better than her being angry with you."

"Fine," Harry said, knowing he was _not _going to win this, "But only because you've had a rough night."

Hermione snorted uncharacteristically and loudly. Then she gulped down the glass of firewhiskey and groaned. Remus then summoned her glass.

"Okay," Tonks said, "We've apparently all had a very rough night. Who wants to start first?"

"Dolores Umbitch... Umbridge... no, first name is better," Hermione said, "Ding dong, the bitch is is dead! Dead and beheaded!"

"And this is why physically fourteen year olds don't drink firewhiskey," Remus said, sighing, "Even the smartest people turn stupid. No offense."

"I'm not stupid, and I am being honest," Hermione said. "Umbridge is dead. I beheaded her."

"Harry, you're not under the influence of alcohol," Remus said, "Please explain."

"Tell the truth, Harry!" Hermione said.

"I... tortured Umbridge," Harry said. "Sort of. Only paid her back for what she did to me. Didn't use any Unforgivables."

"You were nowhere near ready to kill her when I came in," Hermione said. "I wanted it done. So I... I just meant to do a simple Diffindo."

"Ah," Remus said, "It was rather powerful, because of emotions running high and it... decapitated her?"

"Her head fell into her lap,"Hermione said, "And... and... crimson geyser."

Remus groaned. "Sirius, you did not tell them that term, did you?"

"I... might have," Sirius said.

"It was like someone had turned the Fountain of Magical Brethren red!" Hermione said.

"Hermione, you hardly saw it before I got you out of there," Harry said.

"I killed someone, Harry!" Hermione said, "Umbitch might deserve it, but I killed her! That... that wasn't a mannequin."

Hermione sighed, got up from the stool, walked over to the corner of the room and sat down.

"Go to her, Harry," Tonks whispered. "You can still hear what happened to us from there."

Harry sighed, stood up and walked over to Hermione. He sat down next to her, and she laid her head in his lap.

"Talk somebody," Harry said, "Give her something else to focus on."

"Remus must admit he cursed us," Sirius said, "We had all kinds of plans ready, and your dumb quote jinxed us!"

"We had no idea that was going to happen, Sirius," Remus said.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"When Tonks and I arrived to the location," Remus said, "Two Death Eaters – Avery and Jugson were out waking around. What they were talking about before we caught into the conversation, I don't know."

"But its the conversation we heard that is important!" Sirius said.

"Fast-forward, Sirius arrives and Melina and her team gets the wards down," Remus said, "We Disillusion ourselves and get closer. And Avery and Jugson begin talking about a plan."

"They're angry at Amy for the Tracking Charms," Sirius said, "And Fudge just cause he is in the way. They want to leave Great Britain."

"They were plotting putting an Imperius Curse on someone in the Minister's Box at the Quidditch Final," Remus said, "So he could kill Amelia and Fudge."

"You killed them, right?" Harry asked, "No more plan. It's all good... right?"

"Our plan was to kill them," Sirius said, "Until they threw a Bludger at our plan."

"Apparently other Death Eaters know about the plan," Remus said, "And several Death Eaters are meeting at the location tomorrow night. Including, apparently, the Death Eaters we killed tonight."

"Shite," Hermione muttered.

"What she said," Harry said.

"We don't know who they're all inviting," Sirius said, "We can't kill every single Death Eater before tonight at ten-o-clock. That is suicidal! And when four Death Eaters don't show up, they'll be suspicious. And there goes our plan of surprise. We're screwed. Remus jinxed us."

"Maybe, maybe not," Remus said, "But I have an idea. Four of us will impersonate the Death Eaters and infiltrate the meeting."

"And the other?" Harry asked.

"Could hang about with the house-elves," Remus said, "Near the residence. As back-up."

Remus glanced at Hermione, and Harry realized that she was whom he was talking about.

"Ooh, and we can kill them all during the meeting!" Sirius said, "No, hush, Moony, listen to me! We get..,. a... a Muggle bomb. Or... something... and... _boom_... blow em all to shreds. My plan of a meeting gone wrong works!"

"I don't think we could use bombs," Remus said, "But I agree we need to kill them during the meeting. It all depends on how many are there."

"Nah, it doesn't!" Sirius said, "We kill 'em all."

"Unless we're vastly outnumbered," Remus said. "I suppose we could try to lessen the odds, pick 'em off one by one."

"No! All together!" Sirius said, "A bomb! Boom!"

Harry sighed. "I agree with Remus' idea. Infiltrate the meeting and somehow kill them all. If some aren't there for the meeting, we kill them on more raids. We should talk about it more when Sirius and Hermione aren't intoxicated, no matter how little or lot it is."

"I heard that, Potter!" Hermione said.

"What she said," Sirius said.

Harry sighed. "I think I'm going to tell Dobby to remove all of the alcohol."

"As your godfather, I forbid you!" Sirius exclaimed.

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well, we have to remain down here until at least six-o-clock," Tonks said, "None of our other selves came down here before we went back in time."

"I need to talk to my other self," Hermione said, "Maybe she won't make the same mistakes I did."

"Yeah!" Sirius said, "We can warn them what is about to happen!"

"Impossible," Remus said, "It would have already happened. We would have been told."

"I hate it when you make sense, Lupin," Hermione said. "You do it too much."

Sirius snorted. "What she said... again."

"Seriously," Hermione said, "_Shut up, Sirius. _Making sense is a bad habit, Remus. Pick a new one! Like drinking!"

"Here, here!" Sirius said, then gulped down his drink.

Sirius laid his head on the bar and began to snore. Remus groaned and walked over to the Potions Lab, muttering something about Hangover Cures. Tonks resumed throwing darts. Harry simply relaxed against the wall, brushing a hand through Hermione's hair, while she gradually began to fall asleep. When Tonks got bored with solo darts, she walked over to Harry and Hermione and sat down. Hermione was sound asleep, her head in Harry's lap.

"We need to talk, Harry," Tonks said.

Harry turned to Tonks. He really, truly hoped she wasn't about to tell him she fancied him. He wasn't ready for that just yet, especially after the night they had been through.

"First is I've discovered Hermione is a very loopy witch after one glass of firewhiskey," Tonks said.

Harry sighed in relief. Maybe he was wrong...

"I don't think it is only the firewhiskey," Harry said, as he looked back at Hermione, "She had a very rough night."

"Sounds like you did too," Tonks said.

"Hermione and I," Harry said, "We both took a life tonight."

"I didn't mean that," Tonks said, "Yes, that is a big thing. But I meant something else. I heard what you said. We all did. Sirius is too pissed – both in the emotional and alcoholic sense – to talk about it. Remus – well, I thought he would be having this conversation with you instead of me. But it is my job. You said you tortured Umbridge, Harry. Please explain."

Harry groaned. He looked across the room at Remus, who appeared to be brewing a Potion, as well as keeping an ear open toward them. Apparently he was as involved as Tonks was in the conversation. Damned werewolf super senses. Harry then explained all of what he did to Umbridge. He also mentioned what happened between her and him in their old timeline.

"I crossed a line tonight," Harry said, looking down at Hermione, "If I had followed my training this week, and simply stunned her and slit her throat, Hermione wouldn't be responsible for such a violent murder. I failed her... and all of you."

"I must take partial blame, Harry," Remus said, from across the room, "I should have asked why you were so intent on targeting Umbridge. And Dolohov as well. Who else on our list of targets do you want to choose?"

"The Carrows, Augustus Rookwood, Yaxley and Lucius Malfoy," Harry said.

"Did they do something to you or your friends in the other timeline?" Remus asked.

Harry nodded. "All four have personally hurt – in both time-lines – people who are, or were, my friends."

"I imagine Rookwood and Yaxley might be at the meeting tonight," Remus said, "Lucius and the Carrows... maybe, maybe not. If we get into a wand fight with the Death Eaters tonight, it won't be executions. But Malfoy and the Carrows, if they're not present, they'll be executions. Convince me before the next round of executions, and I'll let you target them. Otherwise, you're going after someone who won't cause you to 'see red' as the saying goes."

"Okay," Harry conceded simply.

He blushed when Tonks kissed his cheek and rubbed a hand through his hair. Then she stood and crossed the room. Harry relaxed his head against the wall as he watched Hermione sleep.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tonks walked over to Remus, who had resumed brewing a Potion. Tonks had to admit. If she wasn't in love with someone else, Remus would have been a good catch for her. He was handsome, smart, and mature. He was also a good friend. Remus had killed both of their targets that evening. She didn't know if he was protecting her from the emotional onslaught of taking a life, or what. Either way, she had appreciated it, even though it was likely she'd be responsible for taking a life before their assassination missions were over.

Yes, Remus would have been an excellent romantic interest. Unfortunately for him, he was just a bit too late for her. She had her eye on someone else.

"What are you working on?" she asked.

"Hangover Cure," Remus said, "For Sirius. Hermione doesn't need it. She's sleeping it off. I suppose we shouldn't be too hard on her. It does sound like she had a very rough night."

"Yes," Tonks said, "She never struck me as the type to drink."

"I don't think she is," Remus said, "But she saw an opportunity to take her mind off of what she did to Umbridge, and whatever beef she has with Harry at the moment, and she took it. She wasn't the first to do it that way, and she won't be the last. Nor was she the youngest... physically."

"Are you telling me," Tonks said, "that you –?"

"Oh, no, definitely not me," Remus said, "Sirius and James – both somehow got firewhiskey at thirteen. First Hogsmeade trip. Of course, they could hold it better than her. Though emotions might have assisted the alcohol tonight."

Remus waved his wand in Harry's direction. "Tonks, I need to talk to you about something I noticed recently. Under privacy of a Muffliato."

Tonks stared at Remus. She very much hoped he wasn't about to flirt with her. That would be awkward.

"I just want you to be careful with Harry," Remus said. "I can clearly see that you – ah – hold some feelings for him."

Tonks blushed, and was sure her hair and cheeks actually turned bright red. Damn Metamorphmagus talents.

"Does Harry know?" Remus asked.

"I... don't know," Tonks said, "If he does, he hasn't talked to me about it."

"I imagine Hermione knows about it though," Remus said.

"She caught on fairly early," Tonks said.

"And how does she feel about it?" Remus asked.

"She's... very open to it," Tonks said. "She has to be, since she'll be one of four wives."

"At least four," Remus said, smiling wryly, "I don't know what to feel about this, Tonks. I know he is seventeen, almost eighteen mentally, so he's closer in age to you.. But his physical age -"

"I already know it would cause problems," Tonks said. "Hermione told me to take it naturally. It might be easier for him and I –if he fancies me – when I appear his age during my undercover duties."

"Someone who is mentally older," Remus said, "But looks fourteen. Like him. I can see how that might suit Harry more. If he fancies you. Um... if you want my opinion, Tonks. I think he does fancy you. Even though he has a girlfriend and is basically engaged to four girls."

Tonks was sure she blushed again. "I kind of thought so too."

"Does Sirius know?" Remus asked; Tonks shook her head. "Let him know if you become anything more than friends with Harry. He's going to notice before too long."

Tonks nodded. "Remus? You would make a good husband to someone. If I did not love someone else, that might have been me. You are fanciable, Remus. Accept that."

Remus merely shrugged and returned to his Potion. Tonks sighed and watched him work. A thought crossed her mind while she stood there with Remus. She wondered if Remus had found love in Harry and Hermione's future.

If he had, she was quite sure she knew exactly who he had found it with.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

* * *

**That is the ONLY Remus/Tonks moment that will happen in this story. It was a... "It could have been you and me, but I've found somebody else" moment. Remus will find someone eventually. Yes, I am a shipper of them, but I'm breaking away from it for this story.  
**

**So this chapter was just a filler between two serious chapters. I had planned the whole firewhiskey and planning thing already. But the rest was not planned until I wrote it. The Bomb idea is just a "No, not going to happen, but thanks for bringing it up" moment, inspired by a reviewer or two.**

**Next chapter: Everything I promised last chapter!**

**Hope you liked this short filler chapter!**


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